You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August, 2006.
Imagine getting your pink slip via email. Radioshack lays off their employees online, that has to suck.
read more | digg story
What’s the biggest threat to the U.S. economy? There are plenty of options to choose from these days, from skyrocketing oil prices to the teetering housing market. However, according to a new survey of economists by the National Association for Business Economics (NABE), terrorism is the biggest short-term risk facing the U.S. economy.
read more | digg story
If the West forgets past lessons, far worse events than 911 will happen.
read more | digg story
What is it about tobacco that makes people so compelled to use it despite all of the admonitions? Smoking or chewing tobacco makes people feel good, even mildly euphoric. While there are thousands of chemicals in the tobacco plant, one, nicotine, produces all the good feelings that draw people back for another cigarette or plug of tobacco.
read more | digg story
A new generation of supersonic private jets could trigger a boom in luxury high-speed flight — without the sonic boom normally associated with breaking the sound barrier. Lockheed Martin’s advanced Skunk Works unit is designing a small, 12-seat passenger jet that would travel at 1,200 mph (Mach 1.8) but which would produce only a whisper.
read more | digg story
After the cola ban it is now the turn of Microsoft to log out of Kerala. Children in 12500 high schools in the state will not be taught Windows. Instead instructors are lining up Linux for them. Kerala has 99.9% Literacy.
No Tech Support Comments Please
read more | digg story
With increasing signs that several fellow Security Council members may stall a United States push to penalize Iran for its nuclear enrichment program, Bush administration officials have indicated that they are prepared to form an independent coalition to freeze Iranian assets and restrict trade.
read more | digg story
Bad news for all those baby boomers starting to pile on the pounds as they go through middle age: You don’t have to be obese — just a little overweight — to increase your risk of dying prematurely, according to a large government study.
read more | digg story
The story of the communication breakthrough that brought early communications between Europe and America
read more | digg story
“Ozzfest is a corporate rock event at which they sell the front 10-12 rows to corporate seats and not to kids. Most of the bands pay a lot of money to be on the Ozzfest, they get paid next to nothing.” Maybe he was upset by the lack of cowbell?
read more | digg story
A tree that can reach 90 feet in six years and be grown as a row crop on fallow farmland could represent a major replacement for fossil fuels. Purdue University researchers are using genetic tools in an effort to design trees that readily and inexpensively can yield the substances needed to produce alternative transportation fuel.
read more | digg story
“The incidence of rape in the United States has declined 85% in the past 25 years while access to pornography has become freely available to teenagers and adults.” This paper argues that there is a correlation between the two.
read more | digg story
The Czech Republic is the only place on Earth to have completely thumbed their noses at the common drug charter of the U.N. So you would think that the country must have a serious drug problem right? There must be tons of crime and disgusting elements in public, right?
read more | digg story
Scientists at the Georgia Institute of Technology have made an important step toward solving a critical puzzle relating to a chemical reaction that leads to DNA mutation, which underlies many forms of cancer.
read more | digg story
Magic sand is a special type of hydrophobic sand.Meaning that it avoids water.This video demonstrates it’s properties.
read more | digg story
Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. won FDA approval to sell Plan B “morning -after” pill to women 18 and older without a prescription. This is after a three year controversy and should be available by the end of the year.
read more | digg story
A neuroscientist explains why women want rock stars to father their children, and how melodies can work like Prozac.
read more | digg story
Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in nanotechnology: paper made from long titanium oxide nanowires. The material can be bent, trimmed, and folded like normal paper, but it’s chemically inert and can withstand temperatures up to 700 Celsius (almost 1300 degrees Fahrenheit).
read more | digg story
BBC documentary about what would happen to the world if drugs were legalized.
read more | digg story
Textbook prices are soaring into the hundreds of dollars, but in some courses this fall, students won’t pay a dime. The catch: Their textbooks will have ads for companies including FedEx Kinko’s and Pura Vida coffee. A small Minnesota start up is trying to shake up the status quo college textbook industry. This is sure to cause controversy.
read more | digg story
US professor Barry Popkin said all countries - both rich and poor - had failed to address the obesity boom. He told the conference at the Gold Coast convention: “Obesity is the norm globally and under nutrition, while still important in a few countries and in targeted populations in many others, is no longer the dominant disease.”
read more | digg story
It looks like NASA has found a way to separate dark and normal matter in a high energy collision. They are planning a teleconference to announce the discovery on August 21st.
read more | digg story
The use of I.E.D.’s by the enemy, specifically in Iraq, is driving this interest. Locating these bombs is extremely threatening and then to defuse them is an incredibly challenging job. Robots are proving to be highly effective to address this. Now, rather than put a soldier at risk, you can put a robot at risk.
read more | digg story
“Skype’s flown past MySpace. But both cases are even more confirmation that “free” rules cyber space.”
read more | digg story
“step by step instructions for converting you old gasoline Allis Chalmer’s “G” cultivating tractor into a smooth running, non-polluting, energy efficient, whirring and humming electric miracle worker that will seed and weed your fields for pennies a week -AND with even more power than the original gasoline version!”
read more | digg story
Working four to six hours a day is the key to happiness, according to a new report. While work delivers self-esteem, income and social ties, more than four to six hours a day will bring anxiety, exhaustion and a poor quality of life. The concept, originally flagged by economist John Maynard Keynes in the early 1900s - would even help productivity.
read more | digg story
Is 300 million people too many — or not enough? Wade into a discussion of population size, and you’re soon up to your neck in a host of knotty issues: sex, contraception, immigration, economic justice and ecological crises.
read more | digg story
The Iraqi army is halfway to its goal of 10 divisions as the 4th Division assumed command of the area north of Baghdad yesterday.
read more | digg story
“The proportion of drug users who completed treatment for drug addiction decreased between 1998 and 2002, although the overall number of drug users who entered treatment increased.”
read more | digg story
A mild-tasting fish that was unfamiliar here a few years ago, tilapia is increasingly available in the United States, almost all of it farmed and imported from China and Central and South America. Schreibman hopes to change that. He believes that [...] raising fish in big tanks in places like Brooklyn - could be the solution to overfishing.
read more | digg story
No comment lol
read more | digg story
6 Rules for world peace.
read more | digg story
6 Rules for world peace.
read more | digg story
America’s drug tsar raised the stakes on drug testing in schools yesterday, suggesting that it could come to be seen as normal required and “responsible behaviour” in the same way that some US schools routinely test all pupils for tuberculosis. Wow.
read more | digg story
Cell phone users spend lots of time talking into their devices, but they generally communicate with very few people. Just how few? Would you believe four?
read more | digg story
Shanghai will be home to Google Inc’s third Chinese-based research and development center, the online search giant announced yesterday. The company also said it will more than double the number of Chinese sites using Google generated advertising by the end of this year.
read more | digg story
Blaming BP for higher gas prices misses the mark. The real world is characterized by risk. Bad things happen. The key point is that when they do, the price system reacts in ways that ensure the quickest and most socially optimal response. And contrary to the White House, more regs aren’t the answer.
read more | digg story
David Hasselhoff fears he may be the Antichrist after reading conspiracy theories about himself on the internet.
read more | digg story
E85 is available at only a tiny fraction of gas stations. But Fortune’s Marc Gunther says the giant retailer is poised to change that.
read more | digg story
In the last year, 15 states have enacted laws that expand the right of self-defense, allowing crime victims to use deadly force in situations that might formerly have subjected them to prosecution for murder.
read more | digg story
In bleak nursing homes and vibrant college dorms, in crowded cities and spread-out suburbs, Americans confront an ailment with no single cause or cure. Some call it social isolation or disconnectedness. Often, it’s just plain loneliness.
read more | digg story
The writing’s already on the wall for all of those media but not everyone knows it yet. The CBC is helping spread the word with this great series on how the internet is changing things.
read more | digg story
Could this be the future of agricultural farm implementations? I’m not sure, but I know this is one of the coolest machines I’ve ever seen.
read more | digg story
The Republican Party has a new voter registration project in Fresno. It involves luring people to sign a LEGALIZE MARIJUANA petition and then re-registering them as Republicans.
read more | digg story
Tech companies rally around bill designed to streamline parts of complex process, but indie inventors are critical of plans.
read more | digg story
“James Henke, chief curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the help of music writers and critics, selected 500 songs (not only rock songs) that they believe have been most influential in shaping rock and roll. The list is alphabetical by artist.”
read more | digg story
As war rages on in Lebanon, Israel has been targeting not only Hizbullah’s fighters, but also, the social network that prior to the current clashes had served Lebanon’s Shiite community with its basic needs.
read more | digg story
Drug-dealing biker gangs are distributing pirated DVDs now, according to FACT.
DVD sniffer dogs mooted to deal with it… (no, really).
read more | digg story
A list of Google’s software and hardware patents with description of the patent and the links to the completed patent application documents.
read more | digg story
This is a bit dated, but interesting anyway. Take chocolate cravings, a common premenstrual symptom. Chocolate is one of the richest sources of magnesium and chocolate cravings often indicate low magnesium levels.
read more | digg story
How it works - WEB2DNA will take you website, analyze it, crunch it to little bits and spit it out as a graphic representation of a human DNA.
L. Brent Bozell III says, “…They would rather go down with a sinking ship, pounding their desks and proclaiming the liberal gospel, than consider giving conservatives an even break on the evening news. So be it.”
read more | digg story
Subject: Narcotics (1951) - Presents drug addiction not simply as a crime but as a deep seated social problem.
read more | digg story
Join this group NOW to show your support for future Tax Free Textbook legislation in the Texas Legislature!
read more | digg story
I’m sure the Israelis will be comfortable with this … after the Germans tried to wipe them off the face of the planet during WWII!
read more | digg story
Believe it or not, the short answer is no. Despite the fact you can still find it on most world maps and reference books, Somalia isn’t really a country at all! But these know-it-all books usually forget to mention that Somalia hasn’t been a unified state for year …
read more | digg story
“”The end of cowboy diplomacy” Time Magazine recently announced of George Bush’s supposed turn to softer talk and more multilateral policy-making. The growing beltway consensus is that the beleaguered President finally awoke to learn that he could no longer posture as the lone ranger on the frontier.”
read more | digg story
As the baby boomers age, they are becoming less self absorbed and more generous. There’s probably no better example than Bill Gates morphing in the worlds greatest philanthropist. Many boomers seem to be focusing on doing something meaningful with what’s left of their time on earth.
read more | digg story
“…gangs of professional shoplifters who can steal $20,000 worth of goods in a single day, but one of his biggest breaks came from the theft of a single tube of toothpaste.
Biggs, who fights organized crime for drugstore chain Walgreen Co. , said a trio of thieves had stolen at least $68,000 worth of goods from Walgreen stores around the country…”
read more | digg story
This is an extremely informative article about this weeks activities regarding Iran. It’s complete with links and summaries of articles in chronological order. If you want to know what’s happening in the Middle East and why, start here.
read more | digg story
The case is true for conventional solar cells. The prohibitive cost of producing solar cells translates to low penetration rates in significant consumer markets. Researchers say that a cost breakthrough has been discovered for manufacturing cheap and stable inorganic solar cells.
read more | digg story
A spate of recent spying cases opens the lid on China’s aggressive military buildup. What’s most troubling: It is based largely on U.S. technology.
read more | digg story
A new survey breaks down Internet usage by age and category, and shows how different generations use the technology in different ways. We’ll look at some of the data and break it down in graphical form.
read more | digg story
“Japan, which once topped the list of world’s fastest supercomputers with NEC’s Earth Simulator, has seen its position deteriorate in recent years in the face of faster machines like IBM’s 280-teraflop BlueGene/L. Well now it looks like a new Japanese rig is poised to regain the top of the chart with a new petaflop super computer.”
read more | digg story
These pictures, smuggled from behind Lebanon’s battle lines, show that Hezbollah is waging war in residential areas.
read more | digg story
Felix Dennis, publishing tycoon, has written a guide to becoming a multi-millionaire. All you need is thick skin, cunning - and a work ethic. I am convinced that fear of failing in the eyes of the world is the single biggest impediment to amassing wealth. Trust me on this. Consider carefully this shortlist of what it will take…
read more | digg story
A look at the basic economic considerations that must be resolved when trying to analyze oil production, consumption and pricing, or the impact these factors will have on the economy.
read more | digg story
Tucked away on a leafy Palo Alto street lined with manicured, multimillion-dollar homes is a low-slung apartment building that houses the Meetro commune. Not a commune in the Haight-Ashbury sense. Meetro is six guys and an Internet startup crammed into a three-bedroom walk-up.
read more | digg story
Watch & Download Hundreds of free movies. It’s awesome archieve for classical movies. Enjoy. 
read more | digg story
“I didn’t believe what I saw,” Boyle said Thursday. “I didn’t believe it until my wife said something, and I was just like, ‘Oh my God.’ You think things like that only happen in movies….”
read more | digg story
“Fueling the current college admissions frenzy are the “baby boomletters” born in the late 1980s and early ’90s. By 2009, the last of them will reach college age, heralding the first sustained decline in the number of graduating high school students in nearly two decades.”
read more | digg story
Armor Holdings Inc. (AH ) aims to be selling what he describes as “liquid armor” — garments constructed from layers of tough fibers and fluid polymers — to prison guards. By the end of 2007, he hopes, police and maybe soldiers will begin wearing the company’s new protective gear as well.
read more | digg story
“A new study finds that the lower the pitch of a man’s voice, the more physically dominant other men think he is. And men lower their voice pitch when addressing a man they believe to be less dominant than themselves, but raise it when speaking to someone they think is more dominant.”
read more | digg story
The drive-in movie theater is making a muted comeback in the United States. Why? It’s a smokers’ and drinkers’ paradise where pajama-clad children and crying babies are welcome. While its not a return to the heyday of the 1950s (there were more than 4,000 outdoor theaters in the US), 20 new drive-in cinemas have opened up in the last year.
read more | digg story
What motivates the people who make up the content contributors found in the 1% rule?
read more | digg story
Puffing on a cigarette while drinking may keep you from feeling as drunk as you probably are.
read more | digg story
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad presented Chavez with the Islamic Republic Medal in a ceremony at Tehran University. It is Iran’s highest state medal.
Congratulations Venezuela.
read more | digg story
