Friday, June 8, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Just add water - students invent alcohol powder
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch students have developed powdered alcohol which they say can be sold legally to minors.
The latest innovation in inebriation, called Booz2Go, is available in 20-gramme packets that cost 1-1.5 euros ($1.35-$2).
Top it up with water and you have a bubbly, lime-colored and -flavored drink with just 3 percent alcohol content.
"We are aiming for the youth market. They are really more into it because you can compare it with Bacardi-mixed drinks," 20-year-old Harm van Elderen told Reuters.
Van Elderen and four classmates at Helicon Vocational Institute, about an hour's drive from Amsterdam, came up with the idea as part of their final-year project.
"Because the alcohol is not in liquid form, we can sell it to people below 16," said project member Martyn van Nierop.
The legal age for drinking alcohol and smoking is 16 in the Netherlands.
In Germany, alcopops -- sweet drinks containing alcohol and in powder form -- caused quite a stir when launched on to the market. Alcohol powder, classified as a flavoring, was sold in the United States three years ago.
The students said companies interested in making the product commercially could avoid taxes because the alcohol was in powder form. A number of companies are interested, they said.
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Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
George Lucas Announces Two More Star Wars Movies
We absolutely knew that George Lucas was not done with the Star Wars universe. The Star Wars creator revealed to Fox News that he will make two more live-action Star Wars films.
“But they won’t have members of the Skywalker family as characters,” he said. “They will be other people of that milieu.”
The two “extra” movies will probably be one hour in length and made for television.At the one hour length, what will differentiate the upcoming hour-long live-action Star Wars television series from the films? Wouldn’t it be a good idea to make them a bit longer?
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Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Some links
http://www.theartofquitting.com/
TheArtOfQuitting.com is a creative platform for still-smokers. It’s a place where you can find and share the inspiration to quit. Because to keep smoking is easy, but to quit and stay that way is an art. Submit your own quit-smoking statement. Do it to motivate yourself and to inspire others.
http://www.drawingsofleonardo.org/
the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci in great quality
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Russia Plans World's Longest Tunnel, a Link to Alaska
April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Russia plans to build the world's longest tunnel, a transport and pipeline link under the Bering Strait to Alaska, as part of a $65 billion project to supply the U.S. with oil, natural gas and electricity from Siberia.
The project, which Russia is coordinating with the U.S. and Canada, would take 10 to 15 years to complete, Viktor Razbegin, deputy head of industrial research at the Russian Economy Ministry, told reporters in Moscow today. State organizations and private companies in partnership would build and control the route, known as TKM-World Link, he said.
A 6,000-kilometer (3,700-mile) transport corridor from Siberia into the U.S. will feed into the tunnel, which at 64 miles will be more than twice as long as the underwater section of the Channel Tunnel between the U.K. and France, according to the plan. The tunnel would run in three sections to link the two islands in the Bering Strait between Russia and the U.S.
``This will be a business project, not a political one,'' Maxim Bystrov, deputy head of Russia's agency for special economic zones, said at the media briefing. Russian officials will formally present the plan to the U.S. and Canadian governments next week, Razbegin said.
The Bering Strait tunnel will cost $10 billion to $12 billion, and the rest of the investment will be spent on the entire transport corridor, the plan estimates.
``The project is a monster,'' Yevgeny Nadorshin, chief economist with Trust Investment Bank in Moscow, said in an interview. ``The Chinese are crying out for our commodities and willing to finance the transport links, and we're sending oil to Alaska.''
In Alaska, a supporter of the project is former Governor Walter Joseph Hickel, who plans to co-chair a conference on the subject in Moscow next week.
``Governor Hickel has long supported this concept, and he talks about it and writes about it,'' said Malcolm Roberts, a senior fellow at the Anchorage-based Institute of the North, a research policy group focused on Arctic issues. Hickel governed Alaska from 1966 to 1969 as a Republican and then from 1990 to 1994 as a member of the Independence Party.
Alaska's current officials, however, are preoccupied with other issues, including a plan to develop a pipeline to transport natural gas from the North Slope to the lower 48 U.S. states, Roberts said.
The U.S. government's Federal Railroad Administration isn't directly involved in talks about the link, agency spokesman Warren Flatau said today.
Finance Agencies
Tsar Nicholas II, Russia's last emperor, was the first Russian leader to approve a plan for a tunnel under the Bering Strait, in 1905, 38 years after his grandfather sold Alaska to America for $7.2 million. World War I ended the project.
The planned undersea tunnel would contain a high-speed railway, highway and pipelines, as well as power and fiber-optic cables, according to TKM-World Link. Investors in the so-called public-private partnership include OAO Russian Railways, national utility OAO Unified Energy System and pipeline operator OAO Transneft, according to a press release which was handed out at the media briefing and bore the companies' logos.
Russia and the U.S. may each eventually take 25 percent stakes, with private investors and international finance agencies as other shareholders, Razbegin said. ``The governments will act as guarantors for private money,'' he said.
The World Link will save North America and Far East Russia $20 billion a year on electricity costs, said Vasily Zubakin, deputy chief executive officer of OAO Hydro OGK, Unified Energy's hydropower unit and a potential investor.
Transport Electricity
``It's cheaper to transport electricity east, and with our unique tidal resources, the potential is real,'' Zubakin said. Hydro OGK plans by 2020 to build the Tugurskaya and Pendzhinskaya tidal plants, each with capacity of as much as 10 gigawatts, in the Okhotsk Sea, close to Sakhalin Island.
The project envisions building high-voltage power lines with a capacity of up to 15 gigawatts to supply the new rail links and also export to North America.
Russian Railways is working on the rail route from Pravaya Lena, south of Yakutsk in the Sakha republic, to Uelen on the Bering Strait, a 3,500 kilometer stretch. The link could carry commodities from eastern Siberia and Sakha to North American export markets, said Artur Alexeyev, Sakha's vice president.
The two regions hold most of Russia's metal and mineral reserves ``and yet only 1.5 percent of it is developed due to lack of infrastructure and tough conditions,'' Alexeyev said.
Cluster Projects
Rail links in Russia and the U.S., where an almost 2,000- kilometer stretch from Angora to Fort Nelson in Canada would continue the route, would cost up to $15 billion, Razbegin said. With cargo traffic of as much as 100 million tons annually expected on the World Link, the investments in the rail section could be repaid in 20 years, he said.
``The transit link is that string on which all our industrial cluster projects could hang,'' Zubakin said.
Japan, China and Korea have expressed interest in the project, with Japanese companies offering to burrow the tunnel under the Bering Strait for $60 million a kilometer, half the price set down in the project, Razbegin said.
``This will certainly help to develop Siberia and the Far East, but better port infrastructure would do that too and not cost $65 billion,'' Trust's Nadorshin said. ``For all we know, the U.S. doesn't want to make Alaska a transport hub.''
The figures for the project come from a preliminary feasibility study. A full study could be funded from Russia's investment fund, set aside for large infrastructure projects, Bystrov said.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Bush Finds Error In Fermilab Calculations
BATAVIA, IL–President Bush met with members of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory research team Monday to discuss a mathematical error he recently discovered in the famed laboratory's "Improved Determination Of Tau Lepton Paths From Inclusive Semileptonic B-Meson Decays" report.
"I'm somewhat out of my depth here," said Bush, a longtime Fermilab follower who describes himself as "something of an armchair physicist." "But it seems to me that, when reducing the perturbative uncertainty in the determination of Vub from semileptonic Beta decays, one must calculate the rate of Beta events with a standard dilepton invariant mass at a subleading order in the hybrid expansion. The Fermilab folks' error, as I see it, was omitting that easily overlooked mathematical transformation and, therefore, acquiring incorrectly re-summed logarithmic corrections for the b-quark mass. Obviously, such a miscalculation will result in a precision of less than 25 percent in predicting the resulting path of the tau lepton once the value for any given decaying tau neutrino is determined."
The Bush correction makes it possible for scientists to further study the tau lepton, a subatomic particle formed by the collision of a tau neutrino and an atomic nucleus.
Bush resisted criticizing the Fermilab scientists responsible for the error, saying it was "actually quite small" and that "anyone could have made the mistake."
"High-energy physics is a complex and demanding field, and even top scientists drop a decimal point or two every now and then," Bush said. "Also, I might hasten to add that what I pointed out was more a correction of method than of mathematics. Experimental results on the Tevatron accelerator would have exposed the error in time, anyway."
Fermilab director Michael Witherell said the president was being too modest "by an order of magnitude."
"In addition to gently reminding us that even the best minds in the country are occasionally fallible, President Bush has saved his nation a few million dollars," Witherell said. "We would have made four or five runs on the particle accelerator with faulty data before figuring out what was wrong. But, thanks to Mr. Bush, we're back on track."
"It's true, I dabbled in the higher maths during my Yale days," said Bush, who spent three semesters as an assistant to Drs. Kasha and Slaughter at Yale's renowned Sloane High-Energy Physics Lab. "But I didn't have the true gift for what Gauss called 'the musical language in which is spoken the very universe.' If I have any gift at all, it's my instinct for process and order."
Continued Bush: "As much as I enjoyed studying physics at Yale, by my junior year it became apparent that I could far better serve humanity through a career in statecraft."
While he says he is "flattered and honored" by the tau-neutrino research team's request that he review all subsequent Fermilab publications on lepton-path determination, Bush graciously declined the "signal honor."
"This sort of thing is best left to the likes of [Thomas] Becher and [Matthias] Neubert, not a dilettante such as myself," Bush said. "I just happened to have some time on the plane coming back from the European G8 summit, decided to catch up on some reading, and spotted one rather small logarithmic branching-ratio misstep in an otherwise flawless piece of scientific scholarship. Anyone could have done the same."
Source
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Giant leap for mankind wasn't enough to clear Customs
It was a small step for a man, a giant leap for mankind, but for United States Customs it was just another day at the office. Which is why when the triumphant crew of Apollo 11, led by Neil Armstrong, returned to Earth, one of the first questions they faced was: are you going through the red channel or the green channel?
Documents which have just come to light via the internet show that even if you've just travelled to the Moon and back - especially if you've just travelled to the Moon and back - the US Customs wants to know what you've got. Anyone who has visited the US will be familiar with the huge list of items which travellers are required to declare, such as plants, drugs and other preparations.
Historians at Nasa, the US space administration, have confirmed that the document, signed by the three crew members, Neil Armstrong, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Michael Collins, is authentic. It lists their departure point as "Moon" and arrival as "Honolulu" on 24 July 1969.
But what, Customs wanted to know, was in those bags? "Moon rock and Moon dust samples," the crew responded. How many people had disembarked or joined the round trip from Cape Kennedy? Thankfully, the answer to both was "nil" - no lost souls and no extra aliens. And was anyone ill, or were there "any other conditions on board which may lead to the spread of disease" - which in this case would presumably be mysterious space viruses? "To be determined", the crew responded to the latter question, though the test of time suggests that nothing untoward happened.
It is unclear whether this practice became the pro forma for returning lunar astronauts from Apollo 12, 14, 15, 16 and 17. "We have a lot of records here, but that would be something really for Customs," said Colin Fries, a Nasa archivist. "It's hard to prove a negative."
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Friday, April 13, 2007
10 Most Expensive Computer Keybords
It used to be that graphics cards and processors defined a PC but I for one think the most defining characteristic of a computer are the parts you actually interact with: the display, mouse and keyboard.
1. Happy Hacking Keyboard HP Japan, PFU Ltd 525,000 yen 2. 2000-IS-DT, 2000-IS-PM Stealth Computer $2,200.00 3. TouchStream LP, Fingerworks $1500+ 4. Executive Keyboard, Maltron £550.00 5. Dual Handed Ergonomic 3D, Maltron £375.00, £435.00 6. Professional II™, Datahand $675.00 7. Keyless Ergonomic Keyboard, orbiTouch $399.00 8. Comfort Keyboard, Comfort Keyboard Systems $349.00 9. Wireless Entertainment Desktop 8000, Microsoft $249 ?. Optimus Keyboard, Art Lebedev Studio $???
PFU Ltd of Ishikawa, Japan, an affiliate of Fujitsu, is producing the Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional HP Japan, a made-to-order keyboard handcoated with Urushi lacquer. This made to order keyboard is coated many times using a special brush made from the hairs of virgins, and then powdered with gold dust! The price for this expensive computer keyboard is a grand sum of 525,000 yen or about US $4,440.
Read Japanese? Check out their website.
Going to war with your keyboard? Stealth Computer makes devices to reduce risk of failure in hazardous areas, the 2000-IS-DT & 2000-IS-PM come enclosed in non-corrosive stainless steel with an optical isolated barrier ensuring NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) 4X protection. What other keyboard has a temperature range of -40F to +194F (-40C to +90C)? Stealth makes many other expensive steel NEMA keyboards, but this one looks like the costliest. We’ll ignore the rest for the sake of making this article more interesting.
See more about the 2000-IS models.
These mystical keyboards originally retailed for $340 but since FingerWorks has been bought out and no longer produces keyboards, TouchStream LPs in great condition have started selling at inflated prices to fanatics. You can look for yours on eBay if you don’t mind spending hundreds on used computer accessories.
No longer in production, but it still has a website.
Maltron produces ergonomic keyboards they claim reduce the stresses on fingers, wrists, and arms while typing. This is one of their newer models made with Perspex, Stainless-Steel and Polycarbonate key-tops.
Whats a Maltron? Here’s the product page.
Get your Maltron keyboard in Qwerty, Maltron or Dvorak layouts! There are also US English, UK English, French, German, Norwegian/Norsk and Swedish versions available. The letter keys are angled inwards to match natural finger movements and the keys for the longer fingers are recessed. Getting a trackball on your crazy 3d keyboard will cost you an extra £65.
Would girls make fun of me if I had this at my apartment?
What if a keyboard could be adjusted to fit the size and shape of each person’s hands? We’ll you’d have a Datahand! The unique finger and thumb switches change the 4 different typing modes.
Feel the difference!
The orbiTouch Keyless ergonomic Keyboard creates a keystroke when you slide the two domes into one of their eight respective positions. You type the different characters by sliding the domes to create letters and numbers. The orbiTouch Keyless ergonomic Keyboard also has an integrated mouse, so moving the domes gives you full mouse and keyboard capability.
Is it just me, or does this look like some 1980s children’s toy?
The Comfort Keyboard is separated into three sections, which can be adjusted easily and locked into place. The Comfort Keyboard also features complete key reprogramming and a programmable “rest period indicator”, which reminds users to take a break?
Is it time for a break yet?
This media keyboard, otherwise known as the Ultimate Keyboard, due out in May features a magnetic dock with 4 USB ports. The ultra-thin ergonomic design was reportedly influenced by inspiration from details found in Cadillac and BMW interiors. An aluminum finish makes this keyboard quite attractive.
Be wowed by Microsoft’s product demo, or just see more pics.
We couldn’t finish a keyboard list without the OLED Keyboard. We’ve heard rumors it’ll cost $1200, but where will the OLED screen keyboard really place on the list of most expensive keyboards when it comes into production? So far, there have only been 3d renderings, but it has been reported a working model will debut at CeBIT later this month.
Check out some more renderings.
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Thursday, April 12, 2007
Free Text Messages - CallWave
With this innovative widget, you can send SMS messages to your friends worldwide from the convenience of your computer.
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007
PET - aquarium
She loves the idea of using liquid containers to make water animals. Contained/containing, trash/not-trash, like the jelly-fish or anemone: Living/non-living
She uses a combination of heat guns, soldering irons and different
cutting utensils to make these PETs. She wanted to work with glass but
this is more fun. She have as much material as She want just by fishing in
the garbage
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