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Research in tracking heart rate and respiration using radio waves has been happening for decades. Technology has progressed to the point where modern devices can detect a heartbeat through 30 feet of rubble or 20 feet of solid concrete: http://www.dhs.gov/detecting-h... . Chapter 2 of Jonathan S Burnham's 2009 MIT master's thesis seems to have a nice historical overview: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/6... . There probably are novel things about the MIT technology mentioned in the original post (e.g. lower power RF or better separation of individuals), but there is nothing new about tracking heart rate and respiratory rate through walls.

Mass Gains of the Antarctic Ice Sheet Exceed Losses

Zwally, H. Jay; Li, Jun; Robbins, John; Saba, Jack L.; Yi, Donghui; Brenner, Anita; Bromwich, David

Abstract:

During 2003 to 2008, the mass gain of the Antarctic ice sheet from snow accumulation exceeded the mass loss from ice discharge by 49 Gt/yr (2.5% of input), as derived from ICESat laser measurements of elevation change. The net gain (86 Gt/yr) over the West Antarctic (WA) and East Antarctic ice sheets (WA and EA) is essentially unchanged from revised results for 1992 to 2001 from ERS radar altimetry.

July 2012

http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20120013495

Thanks for the link, did more searching and found a newer one:

Hhere they mention getting 38% efficiency. Not too Shabby.
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19970012689

Strange no one is pursuing this given some of the other strange engine designes with opposed pistons, free pistons, etc.

But I will argue again, that series hybrid is a mistake and single load even more.

That 38% in a pure series hybrid gets multiplied by about 90% efficiency of the generator and 90% efficiency of the EV motor. .38*.9*.9 = ~30% driving the wheels.

A Prius has 37% efficiency for it's gas engine (Tested at Argonne labs) and and 90% efficiency for mechanical coupling. .37% *.9 = ~33%.

That doesn't look too bad, but we are still talking about a 10% difference in fuel economy in favor of Prius.

But if you go through battery charge/discharge into the mix you 90% conversion. So .38*.9*.9*.9 = 27%. Now you are at a 20% deficit in fuel economy.

I think you find most designs with a lot resources behnind them, are going to shoot for 10-20% fuel economy boost of including a mechanical coupling driving their wheels (Just like Ford/Toyota/GM are doing on their EREVs/PHEVS).

Only people lacking resources are going to go pure series hybrid, like conversion hacks and the Fisker.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_medicine#Barotrauma (yes, Wikipedia is not a primary source, I know)
• http://rp3.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/07/13/11/dreams-are-possible-says-1st-southeast-asian-astronaut (only an anecdote though)
• http://iss.jaxa.jp/med/index_e.html JAXA has an article in English on Space Medicine but they don't mention the teeth or the scars
• http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20100014348 this one looks like a primary source; but its only a NASA presentation. on p. 19 under "risk of EVAC" the IMM simulation data table on the left side, lists most likely reason "medical illness" (71%), and in the list of 6 conditions mentioned, nr. 1 is "Dental Abscess". So that explains the exploding teeth :-) Nothing about scars opening in space though.
• Maybe there is Soviet or Russian info on space medicine that talks about that: can a kind soul who reads Russian report if http://www.imbp.ru/ (Windows-1251 charset encoding) has any more information?

Conclusion: forget what I said about the scars opening in space.

I did a search for "asteroid mining" at http://www.sti.nasa.gov/ and below are couple documents. I remember seeing in a 1979 STAR abstract journal documents titled "asteriod retrieval" but when I searched for that sti site I saw a lot of non-pertaining listings. Probably a bit too late to capture this month's flyby unless the USAF has a secret spacecraft ready to fly (yeah the old plot used in movies since the 1969 "Marooned").

Extraterrestrial materials processing and construction
Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 14.6 MB]
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19790021033
Author: Criswell, D. R.
Abstract: Applications of available terrestrial skills to the gathering of lunar materials and the processing
Publication Year: 1978
Report/Patent Number: NASA-CR-158870, REPT-713-488-5200

Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions: Impacts and Beyond
Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 21.2 MB]
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010007049
Abstract: This volume contains extended abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the conference
Publication Year: 2000
Report/Patent Number: LPI-Contrib-1053

I did a search for "asteroid mining" at http://www.sti.nasa.gov/ and below are couple documents. I remember seeing in a 1979 STAR abstract journal documents titled "asteriod retrieval" but when I searched for that sti site I saw a lot of non-pertaining listings. Probably a bit too late to capture this month's flyby unless the USAF has a secret spacecraft ready to fly (yeah the old plot used in movies since the 1969 "Marooned").

Extraterrestrial materials processing and construction
Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 14.6 MB]
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19790021033
Author: Criswell, D. R.
Abstract: Applications of available terrestrial skills to the gathering of lunar materials and the processing
Publication Year: 1978
Report/Patent Number: NASA-CR-158870, REPT-713-488-5200

Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions: Impacts and Beyond
Online Source: Click to View PDF File [PDF Size: 21.2 MB]
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20010007049
Abstract: This volume contains extended abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the conference
Publication Year: 2000
Report/Patent Number: LPI-Contrib-1053

This jump rope model is the most important contribution since NASA's Barrel of Fun series:
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20110013361

> Step by step !!

No harm in dreaming! :-)

Be careful to distinguish between synthesis and ppr. Synthesis is doable. PPR requires knowledge of the FPGA's structure as well as complete timing info. I agree that clues can be gleaned from the FPGA editor tools, but I don't think it's enough to write a PPR. (I could be wrong though, since I haven't tried it!)

I'm keen to contribute, though I'm constrained by other things that take my time. One thing I do have is a complete MIMO capable reconfigurable radio platform. It would be suitable for use with GNU Radio. I did it as part of a Master's by Research. My thesis and all the designs are under the GPL, the licensing being written into the thesis. I plan on putting it on my website, but I need to time to clean a few things up first. Everything is already on the 'net, in the form of the online thesis. Know any people who would be interested in such a beast?

so far lots of humorous comments, damn I'd hate to see psychology studies for full colon. Reminds me I did a presentation on the WCS "space toilet" recently for the Traveling Space Museum. Out of curiousity for more info, I found a Hamilton Standard 1973 report, "Waste collection subsystem development"
Abstract: Engineering studies, design activity and testing associated with the development of a waste
collection system to accommodate both male and female crewmembers in a space environment are reported.
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/19730019213

ok so I'm going offtopic but seems to be a real pisser just to make a toilet for a spaceship.

You may have tapped into a theme that is a commonly growing one - our workplaces are certainly changing. I find these days that they people in them are more transient, more multi-cultural, more multi-generational and more and more the work and conversations are mediated through the power of internet technologies. I'm a big fan of the use of storytelling to build the depth of community it sounds you are hoping to develop in your organization. Interestingly enough storytelling can be just as effective online in building teams and deepening group relationships. I've recently done a PhD on the topic looking at a range of online software tools: http://hdl.handle.net/10292/778 You may find the 5.0 findings chapter may be useful as well as some of the process guidelines in chapter 6. Storytelling is a really useful for people to establish their identity, to share values and beliefs and to create a collective sense of one another. It creates real possibility for groups of people - particularly for those who are struggling to form cohesively face-to-face online. I'd recommend that you have a go at bringing a group of people together - online or face-to-face - inviting them to get to know their company colleagues and that you're aiming at building more community in the company. If you get a lot of people responding then I'd suggest you form them into sub-groups of 6-8. Get them to assign a time keeper in each group and give them 30-40 minutes to respond to a 'focus question' or statement. something like "Sharing a learning from a previous career and how it now helps you in your current role in the company; sharing a key learning from your worst job or worst failure; share a dream for the future; conquering a challenge; share what are the burning questions or issues for you at this company... (I'm sure you can come up with something workable). If you're going to do it face-to-face - perhaps see if corporate can sponsor some beer and pizza! If online - tool selection could be an important success factor - choose something simple to start with and then you can maybe leave tool selection up to the sub-groups if they've formed. One of my roles is to train people in facilitating online groups. I lead online programmes that bring together people from around the world together to learn about the art of group facilitation online and to engage in a range of online software tools: http://www.zenergyglobal.com/of/ I get people blogging, skyping, video conferencing and facilitating each other in Second Life. It's amazing how creative groups of people can get when they are given some choices and a bonded and aligned organization is so much more effective, resilient and responsive to change. Best wishes for your community development calling. Stephen

His 1934 masterpiece, the Traité de documentation, was reprinted in 1989 by the Centre de Lecture publique de la Communauté française in Belgium. The original edition has recently been digitized ( https://archive.ugent.be/handle/1854/5612 ). Unfortunately, neither the Traité nor its companion work, "Monde" (World) has been translated into English so far. In 1990 Professor W. Boyd Rayward published an English translation of some of Otlet's best writings (available at http://hdl.handle.net/2142/4004 ).

University of Texas at Austin is beginning to teach swarm theory as business theory under the term Complex Adaptive Systems for management classes. I just finished taking a management final ~60 minutes ago too. :)

Managing Complexity (MIS 382N.5) Syllabus
Complex adaptive systems, attractors, and patching [electronic resource] : a complex systems science analysis of organizational change - Business Administration, Management thesis

First, it would not use radio pulsars, because it's ridiculous to have four high gain antennas on a space craft. Rather, it would use the x-ray portion of the spectrum. X-ray detectors don't even require optics. However, with a coded aperture mask and some software, the position of the source the pulse is coming from can be determined.

Second, you are on the right track with the knowing your existing position. Pulsar navigation can only work with differential positions. Essentially, it would provide a correction the existing intertial guidance systems. It has to be differential because we don't actually know the positions of the pulsars in 3-d space. With astronomical objects, we're lucky to get a position within a parsec, much less the centimeters we know GPS satellites to. Unfortunately, differential calculations get hideous because general relativity affects pulsar arrival times differently in different parts of the solar system.

This goes more to the parent post, but the accuracy of the system would be much better than the pulse period, because pulse arrivals, if integrated over time, can be timed to a microsecond or possibly better. It is predicted that the accuracy of the system would be on the order of a few hundred meters.

For more information see this fellow's doctoral dissertation on the subject.

Look at DSpace, the mission of which is "To create and establish an electronic system that captures, preserves and communicates the intellectual output of MIT's faculty and researchers."

Each data set (collection) has a handle, suppoosedly longer lasting than URNs. We're talking about long term data storage here.

There's an implementation of it at Cambridge University, and my organisation will be evauluation it as soon as the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server software lands on my desk and I've installed my server.

Tom.

Each data set (collection) has a handle, suppoosedly longer lasting than URNs. We're talking about long term data storage here.

There's an implementation of it at Cambridge University, and my organisation will be evauluation it as soon as the SuSE Linux Enterprise Server software lands on my desk and I've installed my server.

Tom.

These sites are working on making the vision of 100 percent document control a reality:

http://www.doi.org/

http://www.handle.net/

Don't worry, the Association of American Publishers and others are working closing up those annoying loopholes in the Net, too... check out the Digital Object Initiative and the Handle System for two nice examples of the misuse of the word "open," unless your idea of "open" includes a $30,000 per year fee for membership.

Try http://www.handle.net/. Stumbled across it some time ago with some Python doco, IIRC. I had no idea it had acquired any kind of acceptance.

To me it seems that RMS is really splitting hairs. Most contracts that I've seen specify a jurisdiction under which the contract is to be interpreted.

From the Python License:
7. This License Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in all respects by the law of the State of Virginia, excluding conflict of law provisions. Nothing in this License Agreement shall be deemed to create any relationship of agency, partnership, or joint venture between CNRI and Licensee. This License Agreement does not grant permission to use CNRI trademarks or trade name in a trademark sense to endorse or promote products or services of Licensee, or any third party.

This license is restricting the terms of its governance to the laws of one state in one country. Since Free Software is intended to be distributed far and wide (and most certainly outside of the US), I can see how the FSF would be concerned about this.

This is one of a whole pile of data convergence applications now appearing. HP have Cooltown, a somewhat similar (although much broader) concept.

If you want to build your own version of CueCat, a look at the Handle Servers concept gives you most of the infrastructure almost straight out of the box.

URN's have apparently bitten the dust and as far as I know there is no decent implementation of a URN resolver.

For the past couple of years I have worked on something called the Handle System that is a distributed, (mostly) non-centralized name system. Check it out, it might be what you want. The Handle System is a flexible, distributed, and *secure* (unlike DNS) name system for digital objects and wasn't really intended to replace DNS, but it conceivably could. I have written a name server that responds to BIND requests for a DNS name by looking up the name as a handle and then returning the results in a BIND response. It works well and allows administrators to update/create/delete names using the distributed, secure handle protocol.

The Handle System was designed to have more of a flat, non-hierarchical namespace than DNS. We are releasing the next version of the system (5.0) on Monday.