March 24, 2010
The End of Cancer?
Are we looking at end of Cancer? Human trials of nanobot treatment for cancer have proven the concept: [more inside]
HURF DURF 1000 CALORIE EATERS
The health care bill requires chains with 20 or more restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus, as is already the law in New York and Philadelphia. A study published last fall suggested that the labels didn't change the eating behavior of low-income New Yorkers. A recent study at Yale, conducted under laboratory conditions, found the opposite. Corby Kummer at the Atlantic says calorie labeling works -- once you understand the point is to change the behavior, not of the consumer, but of the vendor. Will calorie labels lead the way to a healthier America, or a part-skim socialist dystopia? Or is the call of the Thickburger just too strong for mere numbers to dispel?
A glorified geometry with superimposed computational torture
Trigonometric Delights. This book is neither a textbook of trigonometry—of which there are many—nor a comprehensive history of the subject, of which there is almost none. It is an attempt to present selected topics in trigonometry from a historic point of view and to show their relevance to other sciences. It grew out of my love affair with the subject, but also out of my frustration at the way it is being taught in our colleges.
People of the (face)book
Is Facebook chametz? An interview with two rabbis about their Facebook group, encouraging Jews to consider giving up Facebook for Passover next week. While the word "chametz" strictly refers only to leavened bread, which is prohibited during Passover, the group is inspired by a Chassidic interpretation that connects the leavening of bread to an "over-inflated sense of self."
on 1 April
UK Space Agency launched with a logo that "looks uncannily like the logo for the British Rocket Group, a scientific body from Doctor Who." It's mission is to develop British space technology, "[b]ut this will have to be done through unmanned space activities, because for the foreseeable future the UKSA will not have enough resources to reverse the decision, taken by the Thatcher government in the 1980s, that Britain will not pay for manned space flights... planned expeditions to the International Space Station will be funded by the country's partners in the European Space Agency."
Not exactly the Garden of Eden
"People are going to be what we say 'gobsmacked' by this news," said Terry Brown. New human ancestor.
"a mystery of the Orient"
Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.
A Muslim American soldier battles on friendly ground. 'In his 23 months in the Army, Klawonn has consistently earned among the highest physical training scores in his unit. He's at the top in weapons qualifications and is the only one in his battalion to be invited to try out for the Special Forces. But the thing that stands out most, says Capt. Christopher Arata, his commander, is Klawonn's impossibly clean record. Not one reprimand. Never even late to a morning formation.'
'You watch your words and actions, censoring anything that could be interpreted as anger. You do so even as you try to ignore the names piled on you. Sand monkey. Carpet jockey. Raghead. Zachari bin Laden. Nidal Klawonn. But the hardest to shake off -- the name that cuts deepest, especially for a man who defied his family and community to become a U.S. soldier -- is this one: Terrorist. "To be looked upon by the people you serve with, by people you've trusted your life with, as the enemy," Klawonn says, sitting in his barracks a month after receiving the note. His voice trails off as he struggles to describe the anger he feels. "It's not right." [more inside]
The Elegant Thief
Parachuting through the Austrian night sky to land on the roof of an castle to steal the Star of Empress Sisi is just the start of the adventures depicted in a fantastic article in Wired on the exploits of one Gerald Blanchard, Criminal Mastermind.
...Read their journals instead
We often feel alone—all six billion of us. We’ve learned, now more than ever, that being surrounded by people doesn’t keep us from feeling lonely.Brandon Doman asks Ann Arbor strangers to write journal entries in his notebook. [more inside]
It's pronounced Throatwobbler Mangrove!
Odd pronunciations of proper names (in the UK and Ireland). See also this Wikipedia list, assuming Wikipedia recovers sometime in the near future. Sadly, neither list helps with the pronunciation of Raymond Luxury Yacht. (Inspired by the poll and a recent episode of QI).
They probably refer to themselves as 'Freedom Fighters'
Following the vote on Sunday, Mike Troxel of the Lynchburg Tea Party posted the address of what he thought was Dem Rep Tom Perriello, with the comment that activists should add a "personal touch" to their anger at Periello -- who voted yes on the health care bill -- by going to his house. It turns out the address was actually Perriello's brother's house, and the FBI are currently investigating the cut gas line that was discovered the next day. [more inside]
Suddenly Pooh felt himself in the middle of a gastronomic misadventure
TO THE WRITERS OF THE UNIT GREETINGS.
Steve McQueen: 20 Photos of the King of Cool
"He liked camping, he liked rugged things, he liked firing a gun." LIFE publishes 20 previously-unseen pictures of Steve McQueen. [more inside]
Happy Ada Lovelace Day!
A personal hero of mine, Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron and Annabella Milbanke is sometimes called the first computer programmer, based on her work with Charles Babbage and his "Difference Engine."
The sexual politics of toilets.
Name of the Year 2010
March Madness just got a little crazier... It's this year's Name of the Year ballot! Names are submitted, verified to be real, then put in an NCAA-style bracket. Nohjay Nimpson might be a favorite this year, but I think Pepi Hamburger is going to be the dark horse. Voting for your favorites starts soon.
Previous winners. Previously on MeFi.
I'll have a glass of sea water, hold the salt
Researchers at MIT and in Korea have developed a new, efficient desalinization nanotechnology that could theoretically lead to small, portable units powered by solar cells or batteries, yet deliver enough potable fresh water from seawater to supply the needs of a family or small village. As an added bonus, the system would simultaneously remove many contaminants, viruses and bacteria. MIT Press Release. Abstract and Supplementary Information from Nature Nanotechnology. (pdf) [more inside]
The Commodore 64 Returns
The Commodore 64 - arguably the most influential PC in history - is back. They've beefed up the specs a bit.
Love to play, this here guitar. . .
50 Guitars which you have heard.
The Two Dollar Tattoo Project
The Two Dollar Tattoo Project "All artists participating will be expected to create unique works of tattoo art executed with only a single needle...The size of the final product will be expected to fill the space of a 'toonie', a Canadian two-dollar coin..." [more inside]
The Man Who Planted Trees
The Man Who Planted Trees (part 2, part 3) is an Academy Award winning 1987 Canadian short animated film directed by Frédéric Back, based on the 1953 story by French author Jean Giono. See also/Previously.
My name's Colin and I play in the Decemberists.
"Quiet dear, the men are talking..."
Women were not allowed to speak at a meeting held to determine the fate of suspended principal John Hartwig of St. John’s Lutheran School in Baraboo, WI. While women are normally not allowed to vote at such meetings, this is the first time in recent history that the St. John’s Council President exercised his authority to keep females from even speaking. Women who wanted to ask questions were told to write them on a piece of paper and have a man read them aloud. Hartwig was suspended for distributing a document questioning Lutheran doctrine that says that women should not hold authority over men.
WEF Global Risk Report 2010: Risks Interconnection Map
The World Economic Forum's Global Risk Report 2010. Here is the full report (HTML). As reported by the BBC, Wall Street Journal, and Reuters.
Sit down to a familiar face.
Operation Cornflakes was an action by the United States OSS in World War Two to distribute propaganda in Germany, using the Germany's own mail system with forged stamps and bombed mail trains.
Wired Reread
Wired Reread: "In the fast paced world of tech, we often lure ourselves into believing that everything is different now, and old rules don’t apply. Well, quite often they do (if not always) and checking out our collective tech-past can help us get a perspective on the present."
Nature Photograph Masterclass
Want to take better nature photographs? BBC Wildlife Magazine has published a stack of their 'masterclass' features online. [more inside]
"A Mushroom Cloud, Recollected"
"With the renewed interest in nuclear weapons I have been struck by how few people there still are who have seen one explode." Jeremy Bernstein looks back on the two above-ground tests he witnessed in 1957. "Smoky" and "Galileo" were part of Operation Plumbbob, a series of 29 tests.
Auto Smiley
Up up down down left right left right B A and you're home.
If you need to hail a taxi-bus in Johannesburg, you'll need to know some complex hand signals [PDF]. Taxi hand signs are almost their own language, and artist Susan Woolf has adapted them into an art project, then a booklet, and finally postage stamps. [more inside]
"Hit drop targets to prevent your brother scoring with Kelly LeBrock"
Edison's Frankenstein
The Edison Frankenstein, the first movie adaptation of Mary Shelley's story, and the first horror movie, is 100 years old as of last week. The Frankenstein blog has more details.
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