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Children of mothers who ate more fish and other seafood while pregnant are smarter and have better developmental skills

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:54:00 -0800

By Will Dunham

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Children of mothers who ate more fish and other seafood while pregnant are smarter and have better developmental skills than kids of women who ate less or none, researchers said on Thursday in findings they called surprising.

The study, sure to be controversial, sought to assess whether it is wise, as some experts and the U.S. government have recommended, for pregnant women to limit their seafood intake to avoid mercury, a toxin that can harm the nervous system of developing foetuses.

Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, a U.S. National Institutes of Health researcher who led the study in The Lancet medical journal, said seafood is a key source of omega-3 fatty acids, important for fetal brain development.

The researchers said limiting pregnant women's weekly intake to 340 grams (12 ounces) of fish and seafood, as advised by the U.S. government, did not protect their children from developmental problems. Women who avoid seafood, they said, may actually be harming their babies by depriving them of essential nutrients needed for the developing fetal brain.

"It was very surprising," Hibbeln said in a telephone interview. "We did not expect such clear-cut results of the harm of low seafood consumption." The study looked at the children of more than 8,000 British women tracked by the University of Bristol to determine how kids fared if their mothers ate more than 12 ounces -- about two average meals.

These children, compared to those whose mothers ate lesser amounts, were more advanced in developmental tests measuring fine motor, communication and social skills as toddlers, behaved better at age 7, and earned higher verbal IQ scores at age 8, the study found. The differences were striking when looking at kids whose mothers ate no seafood. They were 48 percent more likely to have a relatively low verbal IQ score at age 8 compared to children whose mothers ate the higher amount of seafood

Via

Foreign Office to court youth on YouTube

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 06:03:00 -0800

The Foreign Office is to launch a public relations offensive in the
spring targeted at British and foreign youth, with the help of a
redesigned website and its own YouTube video channel.

The Foreign
Office channel has been functioning experimentally since September,
broadcasting the off-the-cuff thoughts of the foreign secretary, David
Miliband, observations from ambassadors and junior staffers alike and
vivid travel advisories for would-be tourists. But in the next few
months Britain's diplomats will follow in the steps of Buckingham
Palace, devoting cash and staff to making YouTube central to its effort
to court a younger audience at home and abroad.

"We're basically relaunching the website in March-April," a Foreign
Office spokesman said. "There will be a total revamp of the web
presence and that includes a presence on YouTube because of the
particular segment of the market YouTube is targeted at, the 18-25s."

Unlike the Royal Channel, the new Foreign Office presence on YouTube, Foreign Office presence on YouTube,
will not show past ceremonial highlights. It will focus on making
British diplomats appear more modern and approachable. In one of his
video blogs, Miliband said he hoped the initiative would open up the
"secret garden of diplomacy" to the public.

Some of the effort
will be aimed at Arab and Iranian youth in the hope of undoing some of
the damage to Britain's reputation in the Islamic world done by the
Iraq war. But a lot of the material will be aimed at Britons planning
holidays, as part of a Know Before You Go campaign, after a report last
year found record numbers were arrested or hospitalised during drinking
binges abroad.

Via Gurdian

Technorati Tags: Youth on YouTube, Royal Channel

Obama: Docs Know Best On Medical Marijuana

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:16:00 -0800

Is America unofficially a theocracy? Where do you stand on medical
marijuana? What are your views on warrantless wiretapping? Democratic
hopeful Barack Obama joins Democrat John Edwards and Republican Mike
Huckabee as the third candidate to respond to the 10Questions.com
challenge. What did he have to say? Do you think he answered the
questions, or did he dodge and weave? Watch, decide, and vote on
10Questions.com. Is America unofficially a theocracy? Medical
Marijuana? Warrantless Wiretapping?

Read More

Train Crash in Pakistan today Killed Many Passengers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:00:00 -0800

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan train crash 'kills many'

At least five carriages of a train travelling between Karachi and Lahore came off the rails near the city of Mehrabpur in Sind province overnight.

A policeman at the scene was quoted as saying 50 bodies had been found but there is no official confirmation. Hundreds of people have died in recent years in crashes on Pakistani railways. Correspondents say casualty figures are often so high because trains are packed with far greater numbers than for which they were designed. Signalling faults and poorly maintained tracks are often the cause of the accidents.

More than 130 people were killed when three trains collided near the southern town of Ghotki in July 2005 in the country's worst train disaster for 15 years.

The express train which overturned on Wednesday is said to have been loaded with passengers travelling home for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha.

Khalid Amin, a senior railway official, told the Associated Press news agency that two relief trains had been dispatched to pick up survivors.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

Technorati Tags: Pakistan, Crash

Sextapes, Sextape, and SexTapes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 20:48:00 -0800

Pamela Anderson Denies Reality TV Show Reports

Entertainmentwise - London,UK

I'm blessed. So many options. I can't complain. I can be confused."
Looks like we'll just have to make do with the inevitable sex
tape.

Sex, guys and measuring-tape

East Anglian Daily Times - Ipswich,England,UK

So he's got three years of sex drive bottled up! "It gets
quite hot, but it's not explicitly hot. You're aware they're
ripping each other's clothes off, ...

Africa: Amy Winehouse - the Best of Our Generation

AllAfrica.com - Washington,USA

... topless on bar counters, and shot a sex tape or two, for
a 'good' cause (proceeds from Paris Hilton's sex tape
were apparently donated to charity). ...

Writer's strike latest hot mess: Pam Anderson and Rick Salomon get ...

Monsters and Critics.com - Glasgow,UK

By Stone Martindale Dec 13, 2007, 1:30 GMT In a predictable move, E! has
wooed sex tape stars (separate films) and coincidentally newlyweds,
Pamela Anderson ...

The Friday Random Ten+5 is done with you.

By Doug(Doug)

I can't even fathom why anybody would watch something like this; I
mean, say what you will about Paris Hilton having no reason whatsoever
to be famous, but at least she went through the trouble of making a sex tape. Glenn Beck ...

New Heidi Montag Single Leaked Online

By Free Britney

... loss and waste your time with numbingly run-of-the-mill pop
drivel) Perez posted HERE. Oh, and speaking of Perez Hilton, one
thing's for sure - we'd rather listen to Heidi Montag sing than watch
the alleged latest Ray J sex tape ... ...

View R Kelly Sextape

By Kevin(Kevin)

The dancer later pled that to attach adhesive tape was without its assent and was not correctly protected. Two other costumes of sex by girls of underage were arranged and it denied any relationship with one or the other of them, ...

BuzzFeed Updates For 12/12/2007

Jessica Sierra - This American Idol castoff enjoys an easy 15-minutes of fame with a new sex tape. Sex Tape of Troubled Former 'American Idol' Jessica Sierra to be Released. Look Movie - A movie filmed from the point of view of the ...

Elsewhere

By Michael

Tim Worstall has the goods on that NASA sex tape. *
Scott thinks -- no, knows -- that there can be such a thing as too much
healthy living. * Does Israel have a say in determining America's
foreign policy? If you read the NYTimes it can ...

Technorati Tags: Sex Tape, Sextapes Links

Woman awarded judgment in sex tape case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 19:47:00 -0800

By Edith Brady-Lunny
eblunny@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- A McLean County judge approved a default judgment Monday against two men sued by a woman over a sexually explicit video she claims was made without her consent.

A confidential agreement also has been reached with a third man accused of participating in the October 2004 incident, said Mark Johnson, the woman’s attorney.

A Dec. 20 hearing is scheduled to determine the amount of damages the woman is entitled to receive.

The Pantagraph has not identified the woman’s identity in criminal and civil proceedings connected to the accusations because she is the victim of an alleged sex crime.

Named in the civil lawsuit filed in April are Thomas Robert Hawkins, Jeff Young and Kenneth McCoy. Hawkins and Young were acquitted in March of criminal sexual assault and eavesdropping charges related to the woman’s complaint. Young is the woman’s former boyfriend.

Criminal charges were not filed against McCoy.

Johnson said Hawkins and Young, who are serving prison terms on matters unrelated to the civil case, did not offer a defense in the civil matter, which sought more than $50,000 from each defendant.

Young, 45, was sentenced to a total of 28 years in prison in September for assaulting and videotaping another woman and selling cocaine. Hawkins, 35, is serving a 12-year term for sexually assaulting three minors.

In testimony at the trial for Hawkins and Young, the alleged victim said she found a video in April 2005 made by Young. He admitted to having another tape that she later saw and turned over to police.

The woman contends she was heavily intoxicated and has no memory of the events that occurred at Young’s home. She admitted that she and Young had consensual sex earlier in the evening but she was unaware that Hawkins switched places with Young at some point.

The civil action alleges the three men caused the woman extreme anguish, embarrassment and mental suffering. VIA pantagraph

Technorati Tags: Judge, Sextape

McLean County judge agrees to a default judgment in sex tape case

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 19:29:00 -0800

A former McLean County woman has left the community, her job, and her friends because she claims she was sexually assaulted and secretly videotaped. She says she feels validated by a judge's ruling Monday. McLean County Judge Jim Souk agreed to a default judgment against 45-year-old Jeff Young and 35-year-old Thomas Hawkins. The woman has settled her claims against Kenneth McCoy, a third man she accused in the lawsuit, of secretly videotaping her while Hawkins and Young sexually assaulted her. The woman, who WJBC chose not to identify, believes she was drugged because she had no memory of the events until she found a videotape of what happened to her. Hawkins and Young were cleared of sexual assault and eavesdropping charges. The victim says the lawsuit was her only way to get justice.

Download the Audio (MP3)

Judge Souk will decide next month how much money to award her. Young was sentenced in September to 28 years for sexually assaulting and videotaping another woman and selling cocaine. Hawkins is serving 12 years for sexually assaulting three children. VIA http://www.wjbc.com

Sex and Politics Romp to Victory

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 1 Dec 2007 19:19:00 -0800

Photo Credits :
http://morewhat.com

NEWS.com.au readers have voted, or clicked anyway, and however historic the federal election, it didn't come out on top when preferences were counted.

The appalling story about a 15-year-old Brazilian girl who was thrown in a jail cell with 20 men, and for a month was repeatedly raped and forced to have sex for food was by far our most read story of the week.

But readers' attention was also understandably focused on the outcome of Australia's federal election - arguably the most important one in recent times.

So, it's of no surprise that our article about Kevin Rudd's resounding victory romped to the number two spot on our most popular stories list.

Mr Rudd's slick Kevin07 campaign and its pitch of fresh leadership and new ideas had convinced the Australian electorate.

But NEWS.com.au readers' quest for election coverage was briefly derailed by two hungry sharks.

Last Friday, the plight of two teenage girls in Byron Bay stopped readers in their electoral tracks. READ MORE

A prayer service has been held outside the house where the bodies of missing teenagers Vicky Hamilton and Dinah McNicol were found.

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:16:00 -0800

Police are continuing to assess evidence collected at the property in Margate, Kent, following the discovery of the remains.

Peter Tobin, 61, is charged with the murder of 15-year-old Vicky, from Redding, near Falkirk, who disappeared in 1991.

Miss McNicol, an 18-year-old student, from Tillingham, Essex, went missing the same year on her way home from a music festival in Liphook, Hampshire.

A service was held for the girls outside 50 Irvine Drive in Margate, led by the Rev Arthur Houston of the nearby Holy Trinity Church.

A fund has been set up in memory of Miss McNicol by her former school, Chelmsford County High School for Girls, which Miss McNicol attended between 1985 and 1991.

A school spokesman said: "Staff remember her fondly as a sweet girl who worked hard and achieved well. The school was very shaken by her disappearance at the time. A fund is being set up in school in memory of Dinah."

Proceeds will go to the Essex Police Benevolent Fund and the Missing People charity "in recognition of the efforts of both organisations to find Dinah after her disappearance", the spokesman said.

Miss McNicol's father also paid tribute to the police and the charity. In a statement released through Essex Police, Ian McNicol, 68, said: "I would like to thank the police involved in finding my daughter. We are so indebted to them, as well as the Missing People charity. I would also like to thank all the people who have sent cards and letters. We are really very grateful.

"Also, Chelmsford County High School for Girls has been fantastic and a special thanks to the headmistress. My deepest thoughts are also with the family of Vicky Hamilton." Via dailystar.co.uk

Technorati : Dinah McNico, Missing case, Vicky Hamilton

Natalee Holloway case update- three men have been arrested

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 19:38:00 -0800

Case of Natalee Holloway U.S. teenager who disappeared in Aruba in 2005 gain the progress. Prosecutors said they had new evidence in the case. Holloway was last seen alive with the three men arrested Wednesday. full story

Three men previously ID'd as suspects in Natalee Holloway disappearance re-arrested. | PHOTOS | VIDEO

The prosecutor's office in Aruba says Joran van der Sloot of the Netherlands and two brothers from Suriname have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in manslaughter and causing serious bodily harm resulting in Holloway's death.

Van der Sloot was arrested in the Netherlands, where he is attending a university. The others -- Satish and Deepak Kalpoe -- were arrested in Aruba. Van der Sloot is expected to be extradited to the Dutch Caribbean island.

Holloway disappeared in May of 2005, hours before she was scheduled to fly home to Alabama with her high school classmates. She was last seen leaving a bar with the three young men who are now back in custody.

External Links relate to

Three Arrested in Natalee Holloway Case

Joran Van Der Sloot Arrested in Natalee Holloway Murder

Lists Missing Meridian Man

Three men re-arrested in Natalee Holloway case

Technorati : Aruba, Deepak Kalpoe, Murder, Natalee Holloway, Van der Sloot

Baby turtles at Malaysia's Ma' Daerah Turtle Sanctuary Centre and Green Turtles from Tanzania

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 09:45:00 -0700

Baby turtles crawl to the sea during their release at Malaysia's Ma' Daerah Turtle Sanctuary Centre in Kemaman, in the northeastern state of Terengganu, in August 17, 2004 . Leatherback turtles that survived the age of the dinosaurs face extinction across the Western Pacific today, even though rescue strategies could be as simple as saving their eggs from fishing nets.

(Photo: Bazuki Muhammad/Reuters)

One of 154 Green Turtles recently hatched from a single nest is seen on a beach in Rad Dege, 24 km (15 miles) south of Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam, July 28, 2007. The Green Turtles are one of five turtle species, all globally endangered, that are found on the east African coast. Their nests are protected by local villagers, who work as part of a project that has been implemented by Sea Sense, a local Tanzanian NGO. REUTERS/Sala Lewis (TANZANIA)

After Won over Saudi Arabia of 1-0, Iraqi People Celebrate Their Soccer Team

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 09:20:00 -0700

Soon after got a winning over Saudi Arabia in Asia Cup, Iraqi people celebrate their soccer team victory. Various ways the people do to celebrate this rare moment. In this fight within gelora bung karno, Younis Mahmoud was been the hero for the team after made one goal-determination.

In baghdad, Reuters said :

"Volleys of gunfire rang out across Baghdad on Sunday as Iraqis celebrated their soccer team's Asian Cup victory, a rare moment of joy and unity in four years of relentless strife."

Residents celebrate in Baghdad July 29, 2007, after the Iraq team won the final game of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament against Saudi Arabia in Jakarta.

REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen

Iraq's captain Younis Mahmoud lifts the trophy after their win
over Saudi Arabia in the final match at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup soccer tournament at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta July 29, 2007.

REUTERS/Russell Boyce

Group of Prehistoric Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:52:00 -0700

Prehistoric fish are various groups of fishes that lived before recorded history. A few, such as the coelacanth still exist today and are considered living fossils.

The first fish and indeed the first vertebrates, were the ostracoderms, which appeared in the Cambrian Period, about 510 million years ago, and became extinct at the end of the Devonian, about 350 million years ago. Ostracoderms were jawless fishes found mainly in fresh water. They were covered with a bony armor or scales and were often less than 30 cm (1 ft) long. The ostracoderms are placed in the class Agnatha along with the living jawless fishes, the lampreys and hagfishes, which are believed to be descended from the ostracoderms.

The first fish with jaws, the acanthodians, or spiny sharks, appeared in the late Silurian, about 410 million years ago, and became extinct before the end of the Permian, about 250 million years ago. Acanthodians were generally small sharklike fishes varying from toothless filter-feeders to toothed predators. They were once often classified as an order of the class Placodermi, another group of primitive fishes, but recent authorities tend to place the acanthodiaes or that both groups share a common ancestor.

The placoderms, another group of jawed fishes, appeared at the beginning of the Devonian, about 395 million years ago, and became extinct at the end of the Devonian or the beginning of the Mississippian (Carboniferous), about 345 million years ago. Detailed anatomical studies of fossil remains by the Swedish scientist Erik Stensiö strongly suggest that the placoderms were closely related to sharks. Placoderms were typically small, flattened bottom-dwellers, however, many, particularly the arthrodires, were active midwater predators. Dunkleosteus was the largest and most famous of these. The upper jaw was firmly fused to the skull, but there was a hinge joint between the skull and the bony plating of the trunk region. This allowed the upper part of the head to be thrown back, and in arthrodires, this allowed them to take larger bites.

The cartilaginous-skeleton sharks and rays, class Chondrichthyes, which appeared about 370 million years ago in the middle Devonian, are generally believed to be descended from the bony-skeleton placoderms. The cartilaginous skeletons are considered to be a later development.

The modern bony fishes, class Osteichthyes, appeared in the late Silurian or early Devonian, about 395 million years ago. The early forms were freshwater fishes, for no fossil remains of modern bony fishes have been found in marine deposits older than Triassic time, about 230 million years ago. The Osteichthyes may have arisen from the acanthodians. A subclass of the Osteichthyes, the ray-finned fishes (subclass Actinopterygii), became and have remained the dominant group of fishes throughout the world. It was not the ray-finned fishes, however, that led to the evolution of the land vertebrates.

The ancestors of the land vertebrates are found among another group of bony fishes called the Choanichthyes or Sarcopterygii. Choanate fishes are characterized by internal nostrils, fleshy fins called lobe fins, and cosmoid scales. The choanate fishes appeared in the late Silurian or early Devonian, more than 390 million years ago, and possibly arose from the acanthodians. The choanate fishes include a group known as the Crossopterygii, which has one living representative, the coelacanth (Latimeria). During the Devonian Period some crossopterygian fishes of the order (or suborder) Rhipidistia crawled out of the water to become the first tetrapods.

The story of vertebrate evolution started in the seas of the Cambrian period, when jawless, toothless, soft-bodied fishlike creatures wriggled through the water, sucking up microscopic food particles. Only after tough, non-decaying bone was developed (initially as a scaly outer covering and later within the body) did fossils form and become preserved in the rocks. And only then could paleontologists take up the story with any certainty.

The earliest traces of bony scales are found in rocks of the Late Cambrian period, and the first recognizable vertebrate fish has been found in Australian rocks of Early Ordovician age. So, the first chapter in the vertebrate evolution starts with the ancient Arandaspis, a fish about 6in/15cm long with no jaws, no teeth and no fins other than a tail. It did, however, have gills and a stiffening rod of cartilaginous material (the notochord) that served as a backbone.

Indonesian coelacanth Make Scientists be Exciting

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 29 Jul 2007 08:22:00 -0700

Ronan Bourhis said :

French experts equipped with sonar and GPS try to reconstruct trough asked an Indonesia (Manado) Fisherman how to catch a rare coelacanth fish, an awkward-swimming species among the world's oldest. This Full Article can read in Yahoo Tech News

A very rare coelacanth fish as Indonesian, Japanese and French specialists (unseen) carry out an autopsy of in Manado, North Sulawesi, in June. Coelacanths are among the world's oldest fish species. Their fossil records date back more than 360 million years and suggest the animal has changed little in that time.(Photo credit : AFP/File/ Ronan Bourhis)

Second Indonesian coelacanth known to science, later to become holotype of new species, Latimeria menadoensis. Photograph by Mark V. Erdmann, July 1998

Relate Article :

The Coelacanth: More Living than Fossil (http://www.mnh.si.edu/highlight/coelacanth/)
NOVA's "Ancient Creature of the Deep" site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fish/
A general information site about the coelacanth: http://www.dinofish.com/
South African deep water dives and the coelacanth: http://www.coelacanth-diver.co.za/

From Poverty to Power-The Way Out of Undesirable Conditions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:12:00 -0700

Tittle : From Poverty to Power-The Way Out of Undesirable Conditions
by : James Allen

From the most trivial thought, word, or act of man, up to the groupings of the celestial bodies, law reigns supreme. No arbitrary condition can, even for one moment, exist, for such a condition would be a denial and an annihilation of law. Every condition of life is, therefore, bound up in an orderly and harmonious sequence, and the secret and cause of every condition is contained within itself.

The law, "Whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap," is inscribed in naming letters upon the portal of Eternity, and none can deny it, none can cheat it, none can escape it. He who puts his hand in the fire must suffer the burning until such time as it has worked itself out, and neither curses nor prayers can avail to alter it.

All these conditions of mind are rightly called "evil," for they are the efforts of the soul to subvert, in its ignorance, the law, and they, therefore, lead to chaos and confusion within, and are sooner or later actualized in the outward circumstances as disease, failure, and misfortune, coupled with grief, pain, and despair. Whereas love, gentleness, good-will, purity, are cooling airs which breathe peace upon the soul that woos them, and, being in harmony with the Eternal Law, they become actualized in the form of health, peaceful surroundings, and undeviating success and good fortune.

A thorough understanding of this Great Law which permeates the universe leads to the acquirement of that state of mind known as obedience. To know that justice, harmony, and love are supreme in the universe is likewise to know that all adverse and painful conditions are the result of our own disobedience to that Law. Such knowledge leads to strength and power, and it is upon such knowledge alone that a true life and an enduring success and happiness can be built. To be patient under all circumstances, and to accept all conditions as necessary factors in your training, is to rise superior to all painful conditions, and to overcome them with an overcoming which is sure, and which leaves no fear of their return, for by the power of obedience to law they are utterly slain. Such an obedient one is working in harmony with the law, has in fact, identified himself with the law, and whatsoever he conquers he conquers for ever; whatsoever he builds can never be destroyed.

The cause of all power, as of all weakness, is within: the secret of all happiness as of all misery is likewise within. There is no progress apart from unfoldment within, and no sure foothold of prosperity or peace except by orderly advancement in knowledge.

Perhaps the chains of poverty hang heavily upon you, and you are friendless and alone, and you long with an intense longing that your load may be lightened; but the load continues, and you seem to be enveloped in an ever-increasing darkness. Perhaps you complain, you bewail your lot; you blame your birth, your parents, your employer, or the unjust Powers who have bestowed upon you so undeservedly poverty and hardship, and upon another affluence and ease. Cease your complaining and fretting; none of these things which you blame are the cause of your poverty; the cause is within yourself, and where the cause is, there is the remedy. The very fact that you are a complainer, shows that you deserve your lot; shows that you lack that faith which is the ground of all effort and progress.

There is no room for a complainer in a universe of law, and worry is soul-suicide. By your very attitude of mind you are strengthening the chains which bind you, and are drawing about you the darkness by which you are enveloped, Alter your outlook upon life, and your outward life will alter. Build yourself up in the faith and knowledge, and make yourself worthy of better surroundings and wider opportunities. Be sure, first of all, that you are making the best of what you have.

By so ennobling your present surroundings you will rise above them, and above the need of them, and at the right time you will pass on into the better house and surroundings which have all along been waiting for you, and which you have fitted yourself to occupy.

Even poverty and lack of time and leisure are not the evils that you imagine they are, and if they hinder you in your progress, it is because you have clothed them in your own weaknesses, and the evil that you see in them is really in yourself. Endeavor to fully and completely realize that in so far as you shape and mould your mind, you are the maker of your destiny, and as, by the transmuting power of self-discipline you realize this more and more, you will come to see that these so-called evils may be converted into blessings. You will then utilize your poverty for the cultivation of patience, hope and courage; and your lack of time in the gaining of promptness of action and decision of mind, by seizing the precious moments as they present themselves for your acceptance. As in the rankest soil the most beautiful flowers are grown, so in the dark soil of poverty the choicest flowers of humanity have developed and bloomed.

Free Download the Book (PDF)

Staying Calm and Cultivating Poise

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:06:00 -0700

Marcus Aurelius practiced psychotherapy in the more pretentious and stilted style appropriate, perhaps, to his time and position. From this philosopher-emperor each of us will do well to absorb the following quotation: "Begin the morning by saying to yourself, I shall meet with the busybody, the ungrateful, arrogant, deceitful, envious, unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their ignorance of what is good and evil."

Why shouldn't we be prepared beforehand to view all these people with pity instead of resentment? Their attitude toward us and their abuse of us has really nothing to do with us, but means merely an exploitation of their peculiarities. To prepare ourselves in this way to meet ridicule, abuse, and the like means no more than for a sailor to be ready to put down the helm in a squall. If we should set about learning to sail a boat, this is one of the first things we should do, but we pay very little attention to learning how to run ourselves. On this point Epictetus says, "Cease to make yourselves slaves. Is there not some advantage to be gained from this man? From all: even a reviler. Does not the wrestler gain advantage from him with whom he exercises before the combat? The greatest. And just in the same manner I can exercise myself with this man - and the heavier he is the better for me; and it is surely an advantage to me when I am exercised in gentleness of temper. This is knowing how to gain an advantage from men."

The brief maxim should be constantly at command to clench such suggestions. Try keeping these in mind as you go about your daily live. "These are the annoyances incident to my business. To fret when they occur means that I cannot manage my business without friction." Another is this (for use when subordinates show stupidity), "If he had my brains he'd have my job". And finally (as a shield against everyday annoyances and resentments), "Never touched me."

I can think of no better illustration of the way such maxims should be ready for immediate use than the following instance, in which the laugh, by the way, was on me. I was walking with a friend one day when an automobile came up behind us, announcing its approach by one of those peculiar notes so far from the honk of a self-respecting goose that it can be described neither as a groan, grunt, growl, nor scream, but rather as possessing the discordant elements of all four. " Don't you hate those freak horns!" I exclaimed, rather petulantly. "I used to," he said, "but since reading your book I say to myself, 'Never touched me!'"

This incident marks the progress respectively of my friend and myself in mental training. For I have no hesitation in presenting myself, not as a past-master, but rather as a student-instructor in this branch of practical philosophy.

One of the principal depressing emotions we have to curb to preserve our poise are anger. And under anger we must include the moderate degree of anger known as fret. What makes us fret? We all know the expression "Mad as a wet hen". Suppose you were asked what makes the hen mad, you probably would answer, "Why, because she is wet"; but for the real reason we must go further back - she is mad because she insists on being dry. If she could forego that insistence she would remain unruffled, wet as well as dry.

Similarly, I think I am mad because so-and-so has called me a liar, a coward, or a what-not. But the underlying cause of my anger is that I can't stand being called such names. If I took a notion to practice philosophy to the extent of seeing how much instead of how little I could stand, I might finally be wishing some one would try it on, to see if I couldn't remain cool under the provocation, and simply say to myself, "Never touched me." "Any one can stand what he likes; it takes the philosopher to stand what he doesn't like."

There is no sharp line of division between the legitimate airing of a grievance and going into a state of fret. Nor is it fretting quietly to go about the adjustment of the grievance. Fret means internal turmoil externalized, not by effective work, but by wailing and gnashing of teeth.

You can spot a fretter from the tone and pitch of his voice. This test is not infallible but as a rule you can spot a fretter by his voice. When someone frets, his vocal cords tighten and produces a high-pitched, disagreeable tone which merges into the whine of chronic discontent.

I heard such a high-pitched voice inquiring the waiter one morning at breakfast, "How many eggs are there in this bacon and eggs?" "I don't know, sir, I think two... that is the usual number." "Well, I wish you would go and see"; and the waiter did so, returning shortly to announce with beaming face, "There are three, sir; they generally put in two, but this time they put in three." But even this cheerful news produced no change in the expression or the voice of the fretter, who despondently observed, "I knew the proportions were wrong." If you ever find yourself getting into this state of mind try the experiment of saying to yourself, " Don't pitch your voice so high!"

I once knew a man who was so obsessed with dust. If you inquired about his health, he would answer, " Pretty bad, thank you, and the dust is something awful!" If you admired a picture, he would say, "The composition may be good, but the frame is the kind that catches the dust." If you mentioned the Arctic regions, he would wish himself there to be out of the dust. When we finally had a fall of snow that covered the dust, I expected to find him beaming, but no - with the same tried expression and the same high-pitched voice he said the dust would be as bad as ever in a little while.

It is surprising how many things we can't stand if we cultivate our "can’t-standability." The degree of anger known as getting mad may be dismissed with an appeal to our vanity, thus: Consider the very angry woman. How unbecoming it is - how it lacks in dignity! Why, she is almost black in the face because her emotion interferes with her circulation, and causes a stasis of venous blood in the superficial vessels of her countenance! If she could look in the glass now, and if she knew enough physiology to realize that controlling the emotions also controls the circulation, she would wish never to be angry again.

It is worth while for us to profit by this observation; and if it chances that we are the object of her wrath, we shall do well to curb the natural reflex which will make our face as black as hers, and we shall maintain the role of spectator, disinterested and unaffected.

When real improvement has taken place in these directions there is not only a change in the manner of thinking, but a noticeable change of personality, which includes control of the body likewise. Indeed, to control the body or mind alone is to manage only one horse of a team.

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3 laws of memory or of thinking that you must know

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 11:03:00 -0700

There are 3 laws of memory or of thinking that you must know if you are serious about developing a sharp memory.

The first and principal thing the pupil requires to do in this lesson after learning the definition of thefollowing Three Laws - is to be able to clearly understand the examples under each Law, and whether they verify or illustrate that Law.

LAW I
INCLUSION indicates that there is an overlapping of meaning between two words, or that there is a prominent idea or sound that belongs to both alike, or that a similar fact or property belongs to two events or things as, to enumerate a few classes:- Whole and Part -

(Earth, Poles) (Ship, Rudder) (Forest, Trees)
(Air, Oxygen) (House, Parlor) (Clock, Pendulum)
(Knife, Blade) (India, Punjab) (14, 7) (24, 12)
Genus and Species. - (Animal, Man) (Plant, Thyme)
(Fish, Salmon) (Tree, Oak) (Game, Pheasant)
(Dog, Retriever) (Universal Evolution, Natural Selection)
(Silver Lining, Relief of Lucknow)
(Empress Queen, Victoria) (Money, Cash)

Abstract and Concrete. [The same Quality appears both in the Adjective and in the Substantive.] -
(Dough, Soft.) (Empty, Drum.) (Lion, Strong.)
(Eagle, Swift.) (Courage, Hero.) (Glass, Smoothness.)
(Gold, Ductility.) (Sunshine, Light.) (Fire, Warmth.)

Similarity of Sound.
(Emperor, Empty.) (Salvation, Salamander.)
(Hallelujah, Hallucination.) (Cat, Catastrophe.)
(Top, Topsy.)
[Inclusion by sound is not punning.]

Simple Inclusion embraces cases not found in either of the foregoing classes, but where there is something in common between the pairs, as
(Church, Temple.) (Pocket, Black Hole.)

LAW II
EXCLUSION means Antithesis. One word excludes the other, or both words relate to one and the same thing, but occupy opposite positions in regard to it, as

(Riches, Poverty.) (Hot, Cold.) (Old, Young.)
(Damp, Dry.) (Life, Death.) (Love, Hate.) (Joy, Sorrow.)
(Courage, Cowardice.) (Health, Sickness.)
(Righteous, Wicked.) (Beauty, Ugliness.) (Peace, War.)

LAW III
CONCURRENCE is the sequence or co-existence of impressions or ideas that have been either accidentally or causally together. It is either the accidental conjunction of experiences or the operation of cause and effect; since even in the latter case, it is merely the sensuous facts of immediate succession that we know about, as

(Gravitation, Newton, Apple.)
(Dives, Lazarus, Abraham, Bosom.) (Pipe, Tobacco.)
(Michaelmas, Goose.) (Columbus, America.)
(Bartholomew Diaz, Cape of Good Hope.)
(Grandmother, Knitting) (Socrates, Hemlock.)
(Bruce, Spider.) (Nelson, Trafalgar.)
(Demosthenes, Seashore, Stammering, Pebbles.)
(Job, Patience.) (Wedding, Slippers, Cake.)
(Wellington, Bonaparte, Waterloo.)
(Depression, Fall of Silver.) (Lightning, Thunder.)

In the case of the following pairs, one word has been so often appropriated to the other, that there seems to be something in common in the meaning of the terms - but it is not so, they are mere cases of Concurrence, but of almost indissoluble Concurrence.

For instance, a man might examine a "spade" in all its parts and might even make one after a model, and not even know what "dig" means. The mention of "dig" is as likely to make us think of pickaxe as of spade. "Spade" does not mean "dig" nor does "dig" mean spade. "Dig" merely means the action of the "spade," or the use to which it is put. Hence this pair of words does not furnish an example of Inclusion. But as "dig" is frequently appropriated to "spade" - as we have often thought of those words together - this is a case of strong Concurrence. The term "swoop" is almost exclusively applied to "eagle."

A certain action or movement of the eagle is termed swooping. But "eagle" does not mean "swoop," nor does "swoop" mean "eagle." We always think of "eagle" when we think of "swoop," but we do not often think of "swoop" when we think of "eagle." It is not In, but Con.

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Visitor Identification Methods Through Urchin

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 2 Jul 2007 21:49:00 -0700

If I save an interesting-page, I see a file named "urchin" in javascript format. But I did'nt find it if I sae mine. So, I try to find more about this item in google search engine. Finally, I found a site explained about it.

I will re-write here about the explanation so that I keep it in my this dear-blog directory.

The site explanation is folowing :

Overview

Urchin has five different methods for identifying visitors and sessions, depending on available information. Of these, the patent-pending Urchin Traffic Monitor (UTM) is a highly accurate system that was specifically designed to identify unique visitors, sessions, exact paths, and return frequency behavior. There are a number of visitor loyalty and client reports that are only available when using the UTM System. The UTM System is easy to install and is highly recommended for all businesses.

In addition to the UTM System, Urchin can use IP addresses, User-Agents, Usernames, and Session-IDs to identify sessions. The following table compares the abilities of each of the five identification techniques:

Ability IP Only IP+User-Agent Username Session ID UTM

Identifies non-proxied sessions X X X X X

Identifies some proxied sessions
X X X X

Uniquely identifies each session

X X

Defeats session IP proxying

X X

Defeats most provider caching

X X

Defeats browser caching

X

Uniquely identifies visitors

X
X

Captures exact path sequence

X

Captures visitor loyalty metrics

X

Captures browser capabilities

X

Ability	IP Only	IP+User-Agent	Username	Session ID	UTM
Identifies non-proxied sessions	X	X	X	X	X
Identifies some proxied sessions		X	X	X	X
Uniquely identifies each session				X	X
Defeats session IP proxying				X	X
Defeats most provider caching				X	X
Defeats browser caching					X
Uniquely identifies visitors			X		X
Captures exact path sequence					X
Captures visitor loyalty metrics					X
Captures browser capabilities					X

Data Model

The underlying model within Urchin for handling unique visitors is based on a hierarchical notion of a unique set of visitors interacting with the website through one or more sessions. Each session can contain one or more hits and pageviews. Pageviews are kept in order so that a path through the website for each session is understood. As shown in the diagram, the Visitor represents an individual's interaction with the website over time. Each unique visitor will have one or more sessions, and within each session is zero or more pageviews that comprise the path the visitor took for that session.

Proxying and Caching

In attempting to identify and track unique visitors and sessions, we are basically going against the nature of the web, which is anonymous interaction. Particularly troublesome to tracking visitors are the increasingly common proxying and caching techniques used by service providers and the browsers, themselves. Proxying hides the actual IP address of the visitor and can use one IP address to represent more than one web user. A user's IP address can change between sessions and in some cases multiple IP addresses will be used to represent a cluster of users. Thus, it is possible that one visitor will have different IP addresses for each hit and/or different IP addresses between sessions.

Caching of pages can occur at several locations. Large providers look to decrease the load on their network by caching or remembering commonly viewed pages and images. For example, if thousands of users from a particular provider are viewing the CNN website, the provider may benefit from caching the static pages and images of the website and delivering those pieces to the users from within the provider's network. This has the effect of pages being delivered without the knowledge of the actual website.

Browser caching adds to the question. Most browsers are configured to only check content once per session. If a visitor lands on the home page of a particular website, clicks to a subpage, and then uses the back-button to go back to the home page, the second request of the home page is most likely never sent to the website server, but pulled from the browser's memory. An analysis of paths may result in an incomplete path missing the cached pages.

In the above diagram, the actual path taken through the website by the client is shown at the top, while the apparent path from the server's point of view is shown at the bottom. In this case, before proceeding to Page-3 the user goes back to the Page-1. The server never sees this request and from its point of view it appears the user went directly from Page-2 to Page-3. There may not even be a link from Page-2 to Page-3.

Visitor Identification Methods

As mentioned previously, Urchin has five different methods for identifying visitors, sessions and paths. The more sophisticated methods which can address the above issues may require special configuration of your website. The following descriptions describe the workings of each method in more detail.

1. IP-Only: The IP-Only method is provided for backward compatibility with Urchin 3, and for basic IT reporting where uniquely identifying sessions is not needed. This method uses only the IP Address to identify visitor sessions. Thirty minutes of inactivity will constitute a new session. The only data requirements for using this method is a timestamp and IP Address of the visitor.

2. IP-Agent: The default method, which requires no additional configuration, uses the IP address and user-agent (browser) information to determine unique sessions. A configurable thirty-minute timeout is used to identify the beginning of a new session for a visitor. While this method is still susceptible to proxying and caching, the addition of the user-agent information can help detect multiple users from one IP address. In addition, this method includes a special AOL filter, which attempts to reduce the impact of their round-robin proxying techniques. This method does not require any additional configuration.

3. Usernames: This method is provided for secure sites that require logins such as Intranets and Extranets. Websites that are only partially protected should not use this method. The Username identification is taken directly from the username field in the log file. This information is generally logged if the website is configured to require authentication. This method uses a thirty-minute period of inactivity to separate sessions from the same username.

4. Session ID: The fourth visitor identification method available in Urchin is the Session ID method, which can use pre- existing unique session identifiers to uniquely identify each session. Many content delivery applications and web servers will provide session ids to manage user interaction with the webserver. These session ids are typically located in the URI query or stored in a Cookie. As long as this information is available in the log data, Urchin can be configured to take advantage of these identifiers. Using session ids provides a much more accurate measurement of unique sessions, but still does not identify returning unique visitors. This method is also susceptible to some forms of caching including the above example.

In many cases, the ability to use session ids may already be available, and thus, the time required to configure this feature may be short. For dynamically generated sites, taking advantage of this feature should be straightforward. The result is more accurate visitor session and path analysis.

5. Urchin Traffic Monitor (UTM): The last method for visitor identification available in Urchin is the Urchin Tracking Module. This system was specifically designed to negate the effects of caching and proxying and allow the server to see every unique click from every visitor without significantly increasing the load on the server. The UTM system tracks return visitor behavior, loyalty and frequency of use. The client-side data collection also provides information on browser capabilities.

The UTM is installed by including a small amount of JavaScript code in each of your webpages. This can be done manually or automatically via server side includes and other template systems. Complete details on installing UTM are covered in the articles later in this section.

Once installed, the Urchin Traffic Monitor is triggered each time someone views a page from the website. The UTM Sensor uniquely identifies each visitor and sends one extra hit for each pageview. This additional hit is very lightweight and most systems will not see any additional load. The Urchin engine identifies these extra hits in the normal log file and uses this additional data to create an exact picture of every step taken by the users. This method also identifies visitors and sessions uniquely so that return visitation behavior can be properly analyzed. While this method takes a little extra time to configure, it highly recommended for comprehensive detailed analytics.

Genetic Signpost from Genographic Project

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 2 Jul 2007 21:13:00 -0700

This is explain about genome in our body which is generated from our parents. The explanation is in swf format (credit : nationalgeographic)

Are you an expert in genetic? I am interesting in this field since in my junior high school. It is so wonderfull to know how is our body create by the "generated-code". How about "clonning"?. That is another higher of human achieving in science and technology. (yeah, I thought)...any opinion from you?

Oil spills into Kan. river as flooding continues

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 2 Jul 2007 20:54:00 -0700

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. - An oil spill added to the misery caused by widespread flooding Monday as thousands of evacuees in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas waited for water to recede from their homes.

Kansas got a break from the weather Monday, but more rain was scattered over Texas and eastern Oklahoma, the latest in nearly two weeks of storms. It was the 20th straight day that rain had fallen in Oklahoma City.

“It’s such a dynamic situation,” said Parker County, Texas, spokesman Joel Kertok. “We get a break, and then it starts raining again.” LINK

Kansas officials said Monday they were trying to contain damage from the Coffeyville Resources oil refinery spill in the Verdigris River in Coffeyville, Kan., that occurred over the weekend as raging floodwaters wreaked havoc through the southeast part of the state.

Anatomy of Human Genes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 2 Jul 2007 20:19:00 -0700

This is explain the anatomy of our gene from National Geographic (swf)

The swf-explanation file is a part and Credited by The Genographic Project.

Sea Urchin Genome Reveals Striking Similarities to Humans

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 2 Jul 2007 19:34:00 -0700

Scientists already knew that the creatures, which resemble underwater hedgehogs, are one of only a few invertebrates (animals without backbones) on the human branch of the evolutionary tree.

Purple sea urchins feast on the remains of
a giant kelp in Carmel Bay, California.

Scientists have completed sequencing the genome of
the California purple urchin—revealing surprising
new information about just how
closely urchins resemble humans and
how vital a role the marine creatures play
in ocean ecosystems.

(credit : Photograph © Science)

But a new sequence of the California purple urchin's genome reveals that the marine creatures and humans bear a striking number of similarities. (See related photo: "Sea Urchin Genome Decoded".)

"Comparing all the genes of the sea urchin, it's actually quite similar to us," said George Weinstock, who led the sequencing project. Weinstock is co-director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas.

The sea urchin is one of the few marine organisms whose genome has been sequenced. The study therefore also provides insights into the vital role of sea urchins in many marine ecosystems.

"Sea urchins are major grazers in shallow seas of many parts of the world's oceans ... and they are the main prey of many top predators," said John Pearse, a biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Results from the sequencing project and accompanying articles, including one by Pearse, will appear in tomorrow's issue of the journal Science.

Kelp Forests

Sea urchins, which feed mainly on algae, live in environments that alternate between species-rich kelp forests and sea urchin-dominated "barrens."

"They are known to limit sea grass and kelp production and consequently the diversity and complexity in communities supported by these producers," Pearse said.

He compares sea urchins to rabbits and other grazers found on land.

"Sea urchins are the main prey of many top predators—including crabs, lobsters, fish, and sea otters—that directly limit their abundance, comparable to how coyotes, hawks, and owls limit the abundance of rabbits," Pearse said.

With a diminishing population of sea otters in California's Monterey Bay, for example, the population of sea urchins has multiplied. The sea urchins are reportedly chewing up the kelp forest in the area and upsetting the ecosystem. (Related video: "Killer Whale Mystery at Monterey Bay".) There are other factors that influence sea urchins' ecological role, including interactions among different urchin species.

"Populations of some species tend to explode and devastate the communities they are in, while others rarely do so," Pearse said. "Knowledge of their genome might allow people to better understand the underlying mechanisms that lead to such differences."

Sea urchins can also be used by scientists to detect toxic chemicals.

"One of the things in the genome project has been to come up with a very detailed description of the defense mechanism that sea urchins have to deal with toxic chemicals," Weinstock, of Baylor College of Medicine, said.

"Understanding their sensitivities and resistances could potentially help fine-tune our use of them, in terms of understanding the marine environment."

Humans are also directly affecting sea urchin populations. Sea urchin roe, or ovaries, are a delicacy in Korea and Japan.

The U.S. sea urchin fishery has been in decline in recent years, however, because of reduced demand from Japanese consumers. (Related: "Seafood May Be Gone by 2048, Study Says"

[November 2, 2006].)

Human Cousin?

The urchin's usefulness as a model for developmental biology was another major reason for the sequencing project.

Scientists have long used sea urchins to study fertilization and early development in humans.

"The series of steps that happen after an egg is fertilized by a sperm ... those very early events turn out to be the same in the sea urchin as they are in the human," Weinstock said.

The scientists identified more than 23,000 genes in the 814 million base pairs, or "letters," of DNA code taken from the sea urchin.

The sea urchin represents the first sequenced genome from the echinoderms, which are the closest known relatives of the chordates, the group that includes vertebrates, animals with spinal columns.

The genome includes analogs to many essential human genes that were previously thought to be exclusive to vertebrates.

But missing among the sea urchin genes are some genes found in flies and worms. This, scientists say, shows that sea urchins are closer kin to humans than beetles, flies, crabs, and clams.

"Humans and sea urchins have a common ancestor," Weinstock said.

The eyeless sea urchin also has genes associated with taste, smell, hearing, balance—and surprisingly, even vision.

Source : http://news.nationalgeographic.com

About WIRED MAGAZINE: ISSUE 15.07 - How Slick It Is! Fill 'Er Up With Cooking Oil, Not Crude Oil

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 1 Jul 2007 22:18:00 -0700

John Voelcker

No need to battle other eco-warriors for a spot on the Prius waiting list. If you want to drive a green machine, just troll craigslist for an old diesel car or truck. Any diesel engine can run on vegetable oil — either used (fryer fat) or fresh out of the 5-gallon jug (Costco, baby!). The conversion process can be embarrassingly simple. Rudolf Diesel encouraged the use of veggie oil in his original engine, and later models require minimal tinkering to guzzle Wesson instead of Exxon: a booster pump here, a high-flow filter there. Los Angeles based Lovecraft, the cottage-industry leader, has modified more than 1,000 vehicles and sells DIY kits for the mechanically inclined. The company will convert almost any diesel rig, but Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Ford are optimum choices. It's the perfect excuse to fry every meal. Do it for the environment.

Mercedes-Benz 300SD, 1981 85

Blue book Value $3,200 (average)
Conversion cost $700

The 300SD can run on vegetable oil without modification — until the fuel filter chokes on the more viscous liquid (the conversion kit includes a bigger, high-flow heated filter). But Lovecraft prefers the 300SD because its fuel tank sits high up, behind the rear seat: Gravity helps the oil flow without stressing the pump.

Volkswagen Jetta TDI, 1996 2006

Blue book value $3,800 - 8,950
Conversion cost $950
Various Veedubs used this turbodiesel motor, but it's most common in the Jetta. The conversion requires changing the electrical relays, replacing the glow plugs, and various other mods. But you get startling results: It performs better on vegetable oil than on regular diesel, though Lovecraft hasn't studied it enough to say why.

Ford F250 Diesel, 1995 2000

Blue book value $6,325 - 12,900
Conversion cost $950
Need a green pickup truck or van? Ford's ubiquitous 7.3-liter Powerstroke V8 has been known to last 500,000 miles and makes for a straightforward conversion. Lovecraft installs a heat exchanger to thin the grease so it combusts easily. And although the company usually swaps in custom glow plugs, if the stock plugs are working well, the engine starts fine on veggie oil.

Photo illustration by J.F. Sebastian

Source : http://www.wired.com

Making Water From Thin Air

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 1 Jul 2007 22:14:00 -0700

Audrey Hudson

A company that developed technology capable of creating water out of thin air nearly anywhere in the world is now under contract to nourish U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.

The water-harvesting technology was originally the brainchild of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which sought ways to ensure sustainable water supplies for U.S. combat troops deployed in arid regions like Iraq.

"The program focused on creating water from the atmosphere using low-energy systems that could reduce the overall logistics burden for deployed forces and provide potable water within the reach of the war fighter any place, any time," said Darpa spokeswoman Jan Walker.

To achieve this end, Darpa gave millions to research companies like LexCarb and Sciperio to create a contraption that could capture water in the Mesopotamian desert.

But it was another company, Aqua Sciences, that developed a product on its own and was first to put a product on the market that can operate in harsh climates.

"People have been trying to figure out how to do this for years, and we just came out of left field in response to Darpa," said Abe Sher, chief executive officer of Aqua Sciences. "The atmosphere is a river full of water, even in the desert. It won't work absolutely everywhere, but it works virtually everywhere."

Sher said he is "not at liberty" to disclose details of the government contracts, except that Aqua Sciences won two highly competitive bids with "some very sophisticated companies."

He also declined to comment on how the technology actually works.

"This is our secret sauce," Sher said. "Like Kentucky Fried Chicken, it tastes good, but we won't tell you what's in it."

He did, however, provide a hint: Think of rice used in saltshakers that acts as a magnet to extract water and keeps salt from clumping.

"We figured out how to tap it in a very unique and proprietary way," Sher said. "We figured out how to mimic nature, using natural salt to extract water and act as a natural decontamination.

"Think of the Dead Sea, where nothing grows around it because the salt dehydrates everything. It's kind of like that."

The 20-foot machine can churn out 600 gallons of water a day without using or producing toxic materials and byproducts. The machine was displayed on Capitol Hill last week where a half-dozen lawmakers and some staffers stopped by for a drink.

"It was very interesting to see the technology in action and learn about its possible implementation in natural disasters," said Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr., a Republican from Florida whose hurricane-prone district includes Fort Lauderdale.

"It was delicious," Shaw said.

Jason Rowe, chief of staff to Rep. Tom Feeney, another Florida Republican, called the technology "pretty impressive."

"I was pretty blown away by the things it's able to do," Rowe said. "The fact that this technology is not tied to humidity like others are makes it an attractive alternative for military bases in the Mideast where humidity is not really an option.

"It seems like it's a cheaper alternative to trucking in bottled water, which has a shelf life," said Rowe, who described himself as a fiscal hawk.

Once deployed, the machines could reduce the cost of logistical support for supplying water to the troops in Iraq by billions of dollars, said Stuart Roy, spokesman of the DCI Group, Aqua Sciences' public affairs firm.

The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.

Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity.

Aqua Sciences' machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. "That's why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts."

Source : http://www.wired.com

Deathbed Confession Says Aliens Were at Roswell

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 1 Jul 2007 22:12:00 -0700

xnuandax writes ;

"The army's explanation of weather balloons in the Roswell, New Mexico incident 60 years ago has been dealt a serious public relations blow. Late Army Lt. Walter Haut had signed a sealed affidavit prior to his death last year asserting that he had witnessed the wreckage of an egg-shaped craft and its extraterrestrial crew while working at the Roswell Army Air Field. An article at News.com.au reviews how Haut had worked as public relations officer for the Roswell base and was involved in the original weather balloon explanation of events at the time. This recent evidence would seem to confirm speculation that egg-shaped saucers are notoriously difficult to fly safely at low altitude." Source : Slashdot

LINK