Thanks for the hi-res link. The backshell and parachute look convincing. From there, they can take images that pathfinder took and extrapolate where it should be relative to those two. Turns out there is a bright spec there "MPF", with possibly a much smaller bright spec very close to it -- that would be Sojourner, possibly.
I don't give a WRAT SASS about your opinion!!! I wasn't the one claiming to be the grammAr guru. By the way, mine wasn't a grammatical mistake, it was a speeling misteak. LOok up grammar in the dictionary, fool: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar
I'm not sure this would be an acceptable alternative -- it may be deemed too similar to iPhone. A recent example I saw was Icky Mouse, or Ronald Duck. I doubt that would fly by Disney's trademark police.
I'm wondering why the Microsoft Xbox or Xbox 360 fares so poorly in Japan. Is it because they have loyalty to the other Japanese console manufacturers? Is it because they think certain game types will never be done properly (by their standards) by foreigners? In this globalized age, why is there such a discrepancy here? Can Microsoft just not attract the best Japanese game designers? Do they not care? Do the designers have some nationalistic tendancies? Does all come down to Final Fantasy vs Halo? I'm just so amazed that more PS3s have sold in a month in Japan than Xbox360s in one year. I don't really have a preference for either right now, I figured they would do equally well in most markets. Not Japan I guess.
I think you need a refresher in physics 101. The theory of relativity isn't just some neato idea sitting around so Slashdot can make lame headlines like "pillars of creation destroyed". Implying that you could possibly know the pillars to have "ceased to be" is the silly claim here. There are many ways of looking at this, the light coneconcept just being one of them. Using a very naive scenario to bring it down to your level, let's put it like this: An immensely powerful space-faring race of beings liked the way the pillars looked and took steps to prevent them from being blown away at the last second. A thousand years from now, astronomers are surprised to see -- lo and behold! the pillars are still there! We can't say anything has happened until the observation is made, and only then, in our frame of reference, has it actually occurred.
Expense wise, I don't think you'll have much controversy here -- a nice reflector-only "light bucket" (dobsonian) could be home made with ~14-20 inch mirror for a very reasonable cost. Refractors or composite (folded optics) designs, fuggedaboutit.
...a "backyard" 14 inch telescope. These things aren't exactly amateur telescopes even though they are certainly available commercially. Take a look at the pic of that thing in the article. It's a professional grade Schmidt-Cassegrain housed in its own observatory. I know there are a lot of enthusiasts out there, but not too many of them have these 14" suckers, let alone a pair of them. So... not really amateur, but I'm glad they're publicizing these cool observations.
"I for one am not sure I like the possible directions this research could take."
Well gee, way to turn a perfectly benign study into mechanisms of evolution into a fearmongering worst-case scenario. There is very little here that would have potential for "weaponization". The main reason is, and will always be, that biological warfare is more difficult to do than any other type of warfare. Ultimately, it will usually be easier to just shoot somebody.
From a different perspective, are you worried about some kind of "let's see if we can make a really scary DNA sequence that can kill all life just for the hell of it" scenario, you're not thinking very rationally. Life has been confronted by such variations over and over again in the process of evolution... it is quite robust to "bad" DNA. Even if some "toxic" DNA sequence were created, it would have very limited use, and it is quite impossible to think any one sequence could be toxic to all life. We already have toxins that can kill many animals, why are you "for one not sure you like the possible directions" those toxins can take?? Grow up... it's scaremongering like this that keeps people in a state of fear about biotech research.
seriously! it's like a toy. a cutesy, wutesy wittle toy wocket...with very little potential to actually take anyone into orbit let alone return them to earth safely. one would have to scale that thing up about 10-50 fold to even start talking about obtaining serious altitude. how 'bout that whole stability thing - it's amazing they got it to remain vertical, but it's a pretty unstable equilibrium... the slightest nudge (say, from a gust of wind or something) might cause it to veer dangerously to one side. fuel is a major issue too -- whatever they used burnt way too cleanly. which often means they are not getting as much bang for their buck as compared to just plain old jet fuel or some nice solid fuel boosters. seems like their little UFO is little more than a novelty, and IMHO will stay that way if they continue with their current strategy. i thought their goal was to minimize costs?? right now the cheapest way to orbit is through a single, multi-stage rocket. good old fashioned rocketry, just like grandma used to do it;)
i know, i know, they're just at the early stages, and they'll get better at it. i just think their concept is fundamentally flawed. but i guess we need a few innovative failures to show us that conventional rocketry is still the way to go, and maybe one of these days some one will do it better (i'm looking at you, spaceship one!).
Oh God. Now I'm really dreading the revelation of the final five. I have a sick feeling it's going to really screw with people's heads ("HOW THE FRACK COULD THAT GUY HAVE BEEN A CYLON...HE/SHE's LIKE THE MAIN HUMAN CHARACTER"). Absolutely dreading it.:(
"please do tell what the PS3 and Xbox 360 are capable of gameplay wise that the Wii is not..."
First of all, I do like the Wii. But there at a LOT of things that 1080 graphics allow that 480 simply does not. One simple example is real-time strategy games. Pixel real estate is at a premium, and you would have a graphics nightmare trying to do that on 480 resolution. Now, one could say most Wii gamers could care less about RTS. But IF you did want to play one, you could not do so on a Wii. The upcoming Halo Wars RTS for xbox 360 looks like it will pull it off.
I hardly think it has been 'resolved'. Are you qualified to judge the solution? Didn't think so. For that matter, most mathematicians aren't either. This russian guy is clearly a genius, but let's not be so quick to think this is a settled matter.
...that the XBox360 might be good middle ground for many people, and would thus do quite well in relation to the other two? Don't get me wrong, I wish I had all three, and maybe for now I'd be happy with a Wii. But an XBox360 isn't that much more, and can do much the same stuff as PS3. Maybe it will come down to killer games, and Halo3 will help out a lot there. Wii's got its own fan base... With all the launch glitches from Sony, and recent evidence that they want even higher priced, PS3-based home entertainment systems, makes me think that as gaming consoles go, PS3 may end up the lose. My 2cents.
This mathematical proof is clearly interesting from a mathematics-proofs-point-of-view. But I'm surprised it's considered the breakthrough of the year. Its very difficult for most people to relate to. I'm a scientist, and I try and keep up (at a basic level) with many fields of research other than my own (by reading articles in Science), but I think the nature of this proof is very difficult to keep up with. Not to mention it is difficult to even be sure that the proof works (since it can really only be evaluated by highly specialized experts). If this breakthrough pans out, mathematicians need to do a much better job of public relations, like most other sciences do. I for one think the data from the Mars Rovers, the Cassini spacecraft, and the comet material recovery mission represent (collectively) the breakthrough of the year. The amount we have learned about our solar system this past year is extraordinary. I say this even though I am a biologist, and we've done some marvelous things in biology this year. But the unmanned space program really came through this year, and is far more captivating than the math proof, no offense.
I encourage you to read the primary literature of the study: http://www.cell.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=P IIS0092867406014656&highlight=salter
Then your opinion may or may not change, or may or may not have any credibility left. As a trained scientist, I think this is a very remarkable study, far more promising then the stop-gap measures we currently have for diabetes treatment. Let's not make opinions based on headlines.
...this is like saying I'm microwave addicted because I use it everyday. For those who can't cook, one might say they were 'addicted' to the microwave (maybe they can't live without it). Maybe we're addicted to gasoline -- can't go for too long without a refuel. I, for one, am addicted to clothing. I feel very nervous without it in public and I'm always looking for my next fix. In short, perhaps we can't always attribute addiction to things we use very commonly.
Ya, that's the old lithium in the pool trick. Lithium, Sodium, or any of those metals, when dropped in water will form a metal hydroxide, and release hydrogen gas. A potassium pellet will do this particularly efficiently, causing an explosium. I agree that (ironically), these are the most obvious and easiest ways to get explosions (just add water). I'm not sure HOW much you would need, but I think it would be more than you could carry on a plane -- you can't just drop them all down the toilet at once -- and you need lots of water.
Slashdot Mirror
Thanks for the hi-res link. The backshell and parachute look convincing. From there, they can take images that pathfinder took and extrapolate where it should be relative to those two. Turns out there is a bright spec there "MPF", with possibly a much smaller bright spec very close to it -- that would be Sojourner, possibly.
(-1, racist)
(-1, arrogant)
...may cause you to read this as "Supreme Court Patents Clear Invalidity Suits". Mmmmmm... Clear Invalidity Suits. I want one of those.
I don't give a WRAT SASS about your opinion!!! I wasn't the one claiming to be the grammAr guru. By the way, mine wasn't a grammatical mistake, it was a speeling misteak. LOok up grammar in the dictionary, fool: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/grammar
I'm not sure this would be an acceptable alternative -- it may be deemed too similar to iPhone. A recent example I saw was Icky Mouse, or Ronald Duck. I doubt that would fly by Disney's trademark police.
Oh NO YOU DIDN'T!! You DID NOT just correct someone's grammer using two sentences starting with uncapitalized words. SNAP!
Should be "GENENTECH"...the mega biotech/research company.
I'm wondering why the Microsoft Xbox or Xbox 360 fares so poorly in Japan. Is it because they have loyalty to the other Japanese console manufacturers? Is it because they think certain game types will never be done properly (by their standards) by foreigners? In this globalized age, why is there such a discrepancy here? Can Microsoft just not attract the best Japanese game designers? Do they not care? Do the designers have some nationalistic tendancies? Does all come down to Final Fantasy vs Halo? I'm just so amazed that more PS3s have sold in a month in Japan than Xbox360s in one year. I don't really have a preference for either right now, I figured they would do equally well in most markets. Not Japan I guess.
I think you need a refresher in physics 101. The theory of relativity isn't just some neato idea sitting around so Slashdot can make lame headlines like "pillars of creation destroyed". Implying that you could possibly know the pillars to have "ceased to be" is the silly claim here. There are many ways of looking at this, the light coneconcept just being one of them. Using a very naive scenario to bring it down to your level, let's put it like this: An immensely powerful space-faring race of beings liked the way the pillars looked and took steps to prevent them from being blown away at the last second. A thousand years from now, astronomers are surprised to see -- lo and behold! the pillars are still there! We can't say anything has happened until the observation is made, and only then, in our frame of reference, has it actually occurred.
what a crock of shit... it's just another chromophore/fluorophore, and it certainly is NOT a molecule that "interacts strongest with light".
Expense wise, I don't think you'll have much controversy here -- a nice reflector-only "light bucket" (dobsonian) could be home made with ~14-20 inch mirror for a very reasonable cost. Refractors or composite (folded optics) designs, fuggedaboutit.
...a "backyard" 14 inch telescope. These things aren't exactly amateur telescopes even though they are certainly available commercially. Take a look at the pic of that thing in the article. It's a professional grade Schmidt-Cassegrain housed in its own observatory. I know there are a lot of enthusiasts out there, but not too many of them have these 14" suckers, let alone a pair of them. So... not really amateur, but I'm glad they're publicizing these cool observations.
Well gee, way to turn a perfectly benign study into mechanisms of evolution into a fearmongering worst-case scenario. There is very little here that would have potential for "weaponization". The main reason is, and will always be, that biological warfare is more difficult to do than any other type of warfare. Ultimately, it will usually be easier to just shoot somebody.
From a different perspective, are you worried about some kind of "let's see if we can make a really scary DNA sequence that can kill all life just for the hell of it" scenario, you're not thinking very rationally. Life has been confronted by such variations over and over again in the process of evolution... it is quite robust to "bad" DNA. Even if some "toxic" DNA sequence were created, it would have very limited use, and it is quite impossible to think any one sequence could be toxic to all life. We already have toxins that can kill many animals, why are you "for one not sure you like the possible directions" those toxins can take?? Grow up... it's scaremongering like this that keeps people in a state of fear about biotech research.
seriously! it's like a toy. a cutesy, wutesy wittle toy wocket...with very little potential to actually take anyone into orbit let alone return them to earth safely. one would have to scale that thing up about 10-50 fold to even start talking about obtaining serious altitude. how 'bout that whole stability thing - it's amazing they got it to remain vertical, but it's a pretty unstable equilibrium... the slightest nudge (say, from a gust of wind or something) might cause it to veer dangerously to one side. fuel is a major issue too -- whatever they used burnt way too cleanly. which often means they are not getting as much bang for their buck as compared to just plain old jet fuel or some nice solid fuel boosters. seems like their little UFO is little more than a novelty, and IMHO will stay that way if they continue with their current strategy. i thought their goal was to minimize costs?? right now the cheapest way to orbit is through a single, multi-stage rocket. good old fashioned rocketry, just like grandma used to do it ;)
i know, i know, they're just at the early stages, and they'll get better at it. i just think their concept is fundamentally flawed. but i guess we need a few innovative failures to show us that conventional rocketry is still the way to go, and maybe one of these days some one will do it better (i'm looking at you, spaceship one!).
Oh God. Now I'm really dreading the revelation of the final five. I have a sick feeling it's going to really screw with people's heads ("HOW THE FRACK COULD THAT GUY HAVE BEEN A CYLON...HE/SHE's LIKE THE MAIN HUMAN CHARACTER"). Absolutely dreading it. :(
Did you get the point of mine? Didn't think so. I think you may be too focused on garnish rather than substance. Go flame elsewhere.
First of all, I do like the Wii. But there at a LOT of things that 1080 graphics allow that 480 simply does not. One simple example is real-time strategy games. Pixel real estate is at a premium, and you would have a graphics nightmare trying to do that on 480 resolution. Now, one could say most Wii gamers could care less about RTS. But IF you did want to play one, you could not do so on a Wii. The upcoming Halo Wars RTS for xbox 360 looks like it will pull it off.
I hardly think it has been 'resolved'. Are you qualified to judge the solution? Didn't think so. For that matter, most mathematicians aren't either. This russian guy is clearly a genius, but let's not be so quick to think this is a settled matter.
...that the XBox360 might be good middle ground for many people, and would thus do quite well in relation to the other two? Don't get me wrong, I wish I had all three, and maybe for now I'd be happy with a Wii. But an XBox360 isn't that much more, and can do much the same stuff as PS3. Maybe it will come down to killer games, and Halo3 will help out a lot there. Wii's got its own fan base... With all the launch glitches from Sony, and recent evidence that they want even higher priced, PS3-based home entertainment systems, makes me think that as gaming consoles go, PS3 may end up the lose. My 2cents.
This mathematical proof is clearly interesting from a mathematics-proofs-point-of-view. But I'm surprised it's considered the breakthrough of the year. Its very difficult for most people to relate to. I'm a scientist, and I try and keep up (at a basic level) with many fields of research other than my own (by reading articles in Science), but I think the nature of this proof is very difficult to keep up with. Not to mention it is difficult to even be sure that the proof works (since it can really only be evaluated by highly specialized experts). If this breakthrough pans out, mathematicians need to do a much better job of public relations, like most other sciences do. I for one think the data from the Mars Rovers, the Cassini spacecraft, and the comet material recovery mission represent (collectively) the breakthrough of the year. The amount we have learned about our solar system this past year is extraordinary. I say this even though I am a biologist, and we've done some marvelous things in biology this year. But the unmanned space program really came through this year, and is far more captivating than the math proof, no offense.
Mary Beth Sweetland: Type A terrorist, hypocrite, and all-around bitch. She needs to fight for the animals so they can support her western lifestyle.
I encourage you to read the primary literature of the study: http://www.cell.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=P IIS0092867406014656&highlight=salter
Then your opinion may or may not change, or may or may not have any credibility left. As a trained scientist, I think this is a very remarkable study, far more promising then the stop-gap measures we currently have for diabetes treatment. Let's not make opinions based on headlines.
What is this, the pre-20th century or something? Nowadays, we call them "COUNTRIES".
...this is like saying I'm microwave addicted because I use it everyday. For those who can't cook, one might say they were 'addicted' to the microwave (maybe they can't live without it). Maybe we're addicted to gasoline -- can't go for too long without a refuel. I, for one, am addicted to clothing. I feel very nervous without it in public and I'm always looking for my next fix. In short, perhaps we can't always attribute addiction to things we use very commonly.
Ya, that's the old lithium in the pool trick. Lithium, Sodium, or any of those metals, when dropped in water will form a metal hydroxide, and release hydrogen gas. A potassium pellet will do this particularly efficiently, causing an explosium. I agree that (ironically), these are the most obvious and easiest ways to get explosions (just add water). I'm not sure HOW much you would need, but I think it would be more than you could carry on a plane -- you can't just drop them all down the toilet at once -- and you need lots of water.