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Relic Finds Reveal Zulu War Cover-Up

Relic Finds Reveal Zulu War Cover-Up

Apr 01 2011 | comment(s)

Relic Finds Reveal Zulu War Cover-Up


Paleontologists searching for fossils in a remote area of South Africa were astonished to find spent bullets and cartridge case remnants in an area not previously known as a battle site.  A chemical analysis of the cases and traces of propellant identified the items as being from the time of Britain's wars with the Zulus and the Boers.  Investigators seeking further information about the previously unrecorded presence of British soldiers in the area have found papers in British Government archives which show that a third battle was fought after Isandlwana and
Friday Fossil

Friday Fossil

Apr 01 2011 | comment(s)

This week's Friday Fossil is Arthropleura.



"Calm down, dear!!"

I'm about to pop off to the isle of Arran, the poster-child of British Geology. Not many countries can boast a handy island that has displays almost its entire geological history, from precambrian to recent, along one continuous shoreline.


Geoid: What Earth Would Look Like Shaped Only By Gravity

Geoid: What Earth Would Look Like Shaped Only By Gravity

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

Gravity does funny things.   While the Earth looks rather round in pictures from space, the distortions that would have to occur in order to have uniform gravity everywhere would make it look more like...a potato, or a squashed basketball.

ESA's GOCE satellite has gathered enough data to map Earth's gravity with unrivaled precision, and so we get the most accurate model of the 'geoid' ever produced.  The geoid is the surface of an ideal global ocean in the absence of tides and currents, shaped only by gravity. It is a crucial reference for measuring ocean circulation, sea-level change and ice dynamics.  
Academic Freedom Versus Freedom Of Information Act Requests

Academic Freedom Versus Freedom Of Information Act Requests

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

In the 1970s, the federal government mandated that only universities that adhered to racial quotas could receive federal money - as a result, nearly all U.S. universities today receive federal funding of some sort and all receive state money.
Scientists: You Don't Care Much About Open Access, Says Study

Scientists: You Don't Care Much About Open Access, Says Study

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

Open access, where scientists pay a fee to publish so that the public and other scientists can read the study for free, is a negligible issue to most scientists, according to a new research report in The FASEB Journal.
An Arctic Decade 2001 - 2011

An Arctic Decade 2001 - 2011

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

An Arctic Decade 2001 - 2011


For thousands of years the Arctic has been covered in perennial ice with seasonal changes at the margins and some natural variation, seen as losses and recoveries of extent.

For hundreds of years observers have noted that seasonal and local variations at the margins can leave some relatively small regions ice free one year, and solidly iced up in other years.
The Gravity Potato

The Gravity Potato

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)



Earth's gravity revealed in unprecedented detail



This latest news release from ESA, the European Space Agency, gives us the most accurate picture yet of the geoid, which
is the surface of an ideal global ocean in the absence of tides and currents, shaped only by gravity. It is a crucial reference for measuring ocean circulation, sea-level change and ice dynamics – all affected by climate change.


How The West Was Warm(er)

How The West Was Warm(er)

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

The eastern continental boundaries of America and Asia are colder than the same latitudes on their western boundaries -  no one thinks of Barcelona or London as colder than New York City but they are both north of the Big Apple.   I think any of us would trade a NYC winter for a Barcelona one.   Mountain ranges and warm ocean currents are the likely culprits, according to recent hypotheses.
Early 20th Century Robots: Sparko, The Robotic Scottish Terrier

Early 20th Century Robots: Sparko, The Robotic Scottish Terrier

Mar 31 2011 | comment(s)

At the 1939 World’s Fair, Westinghouse, which had an interest in robotics even a decade before, unveiled two robot prototypes: a humanoid named Elektro and a dog named Sparko.

Elektro was able to walk, count and smoke cigarettes (which likely did not make his voice raspy, since he talked using a record player) while Sparko was able to sit up and bark.  Take that, G.E.!

Sparko and Elektro.   The big guy was 7 feet tall and weighed 300 lbs.  No wonder science fiction was scary.   
Atomic Bomb Survivors Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki - How They Fared

Atomic Bomb Survivors Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki - How They Fared

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

While the current radiation concerns in Japan are not on a par with atomic bombs, the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki can provide some insight into what effects, if any, radiation might have on residents of Japan today.
A review article in the latest issue of Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness (free to read - http://www.dmphp.org) looks at risk estimates and summarizes what has been learned from following the survivors for 63 years. 
Depression Impairs 'Empathic Accuracy'

Depression Impairs 'Empathic Accuracy'

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

Depression erodes intimate relationships not just by making one person withdrawn, needy, or hostile, but also because it impairs a depressed person's ability to perceive the others' thoughts and feelings. It impairs what psychologists call "empathic accuracy" and that can exacerbate alienation, depression in a vicious cycle.
Trader Joe's Pizzas Recalled Because Of...Wheat

Trader Joe's Pizzas Recalled Because Of...Wheat

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

It used to be that natural ingredients were good, but as western civilization has gotten more concerned about health, immune diseases and allergies have gone way up.  Wheat is listed as a 'known allergen' by the US Department of Agriculture.   

Now 131,000 pounds of pizza products shipped to Trader Joe's stores nationwide have been recalled because they contain wheat.  Yes, wheat.  The product that set off the agricultural revolution in Europe and made them world leaders.  The product that fed the Roman Empire.   The product we subsidize to keep it profitable for farmers because food is a strategic resource.
Carbon footprint labels? You might have a few surprises...

Carbon footprint labels? You might have a few surprises...

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

Labeling things with their carbon footprint is an idea that I didn't realise was new; in fact I thought it had been done already at Tesco's. Anyway, my ignorance aside, Vandenbergh et al have recommended them, writing in Nature Climate Change that
"A major barrier to improved energy efficiency in households seems to be a lack of understanding of the impacts of various actions and products,"
"Providing information would lower this barrier, allowing consumers to make more informed choices without substantial effort."
NBC's Brian Williams Does Not Mention G.E.'s $0 Tax Bill

NBC's Brian Williams Does Not Mention G.E.'s $0 Tax Bill

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

G.E., General Electric Corp., which owns NBC News, generated a profit of $14.2 billion last year.   It's taxes paid for 2010?  $0.

Did NBC mention that?  They did not.  So the next time you think that the media is only biased when the network is Fox News, keep that in mind.   Did ABC cover the story?   You betcha, of course they covered a competitor.
Twitter Monitor Plus Algorithm Yields 'Credible' News

Twitter Monitor Plus Algorithm Yields 'Credible' News

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

If you have used Twitter, you either love it or hate it.   Regardless of how you feel on the subject, social media sites, like Twitter, have become a source of news for some, though if you think people only watch news on television they already agree with, you can imagine what their Twitter feeds are like.

John Timmer at Ars Technica discusses some Yahoo! researchers who say they can create an automated system that identifies newsworthy events and judges their reliability with an accuracy of nearly 90 percent.
'Organic' Food Lovers Should Avoid Raw Bean Sprouts

'Organic' Food Lovers Should Avoid Raw Bean Sprouts

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

Sprouts are regarded as a healthy food source, rich with vitamins, minerals and non-meat proteins, but they've also been recalled five times in the last two years for salmonella and hundreds of people have become sick due to them.    Activists can complain about GMOs but, after decades in use, not so much as a stomach ache has been caused by them.
Tablet Discovery Pushes Earliest European Writing Back 150 Years

Tablet Discovery Pushes Earliest European Writing Back 150 Years

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

A clay tablet discovered Greece changes what is known about the origins of literacy in the western world, obviously a good thing, and, unfortunately, also about the origins of bureaucracy.    Measuring 2 inches by 3 inches, the tablet fragment is the earliest known written record in Europe, dating back to between 1450 and 1350 B.C., 100-150 years before the tablets from the Petsas House at Mycenae.
Japan’s Earthquake: Deciphering the Fury

Japan’s Earthquake: Deciphering the Fury

Mar 30 2011 | comment(s)

The events that have afflicted Japan since the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami of March 11 are all too well known, but the events that occurred before and the even more ominous events that may occur in the near future are less known.
RMS Titanic - Lessons From History

RMS Titanic - Lessons From History

Mar 29 2011 | comment(s)

RMS Titanic - Lessons From History

Titanic 100 Festival

Belfast's most famous creation, Titanic, will be commemorated in an extended annual festival from 31 March - 31 May 2011, which will include key dates of the ship's build.
http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/titanic/



It is unlikely that anybody involved in the design, construction and operation of RMS Titanic ever claimed that she was unsinkable.  But the rumor persists that the claim was made.
Boring project writeup

Boring project writeup

Mar 29 2011 | comment(s)

Not all satellite building involves blowing things up, frying circuits, and desperately hacking hardware.  Sometimes you get regulatory-related requests such as "provide a brief abstract of your mission (include key milestones or events)".  So, free of hype, here is the boilerplate definition I came up with for Project Calliope.