 | "There's Justice In The Universe" |
| Posted 8/4/2009 4:34 PM CDT During my visit to the doctor today, I received a vaccination to protect me against 'shingles'. When given the opportunity, I jumped at it. I've known people who suffered through this agonizing ordeal. Note: My health insurance paid for it. Even they recognize the 'bottom line' value of vaccinating against such a 'temporarily debilitating' (at the least) disease. Read about it: tinyurl.com/ShinglesVaccination |
| Posted 7/28/2009 3:14 PM CDT Urine-powered cars, homes and personal electronic devices could begin to be available in six months. Using a nickel-based electrode, scientists can create large amounts of cheap hydrogen from urine that could be burned or used in fuel cells. One cow can provide enough energy to supply hot water for 19 houses. One molecule of urea, a major component of urine, contains four atoms of hydrogen bonded to two atoms of nitrogen. If you place a special nickel electrode into a pool of urine and apply an electrical current, hydrogen gas is released. A urine-powered vehicle could theoretically travel 90 miles per gallon. Read: tinyurl.com/kwxau5 |
| Posted 7/26/2009 3:21 PM CDT Oh, sure, they say it isn't true. But every indication says it is. Asked by Katie Couric if "illegal immigrants" should be covered under the emerging national health plan, Pres. Obama said "NO." But then he started giving exceptions that would cover about 98% of current illegal aliens. House leaders are playing the same game. Take a look .....short version: www.tinyurl.com/mekhp3 long version:www.tinyurl.com/l2r6pk Take Action: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/ p.s., The same is true for Social Security claims via 'The Totalization Agreement' (as defined during Bush's presidency). Under 'globalization' tenets, we're part of a global workforce. Fine, but why should my personal SS contributions & tax dollars fund international & corporate workforce agreements? |
| Posted 7/14/2009 5:34 PM CDT "Right now, Washington is hammering out a health care reform bill that will affect our health -- and our wallets. And right now, the giant drug companies, insurance companies and medical conglomerates are spending $1.4 million each day to make sure the bill benefits them, not us. They’ve even hired 350 former members of Congress and staff to push their agenda of getting more money in their pockets, and less in ours. Note: If everyone who gets this gives just $10, Consumers Union can mobilize an army of consumer activists to send letters, make phone calls and show up in Congressional offices demanding that health care reform lower costs and treat people fairly." [The majority of Americans want health care reform --- but not necessarily the kind that corporate health organizations want. Lives are being ruined by ridiculously high health care costs and insurance company tricks that price people out of coverage or flat-out deny them care.] p.s., Universal Health Care is not an option in a country that's increasingly overpopulated. Learn more: http://www.cuactionfund.org/learn.html Take Action: https://secure.consumersunion.org/site/Donation2?idb=1835620257&df_id=1320&1320.donation=form1 |
| Posted 7/11/2009 5:35 PM CDT English speakers are all too often surprised to learn that the original books of the Bible weren't written in English. Though this is more of an indictment of the cognitive level that made Leno's "Jaywalk All-Stars" painfully entertaining, it also is reflected in the common notion that the original bible was written in its entirety by only writers who were "divinely inspired". Though Wikipedia provides an excellent write-up of who wrote the Bible, for those who are really interested in the Bible I suggest that they read "Don't Know Much about The Bible" by Kenneth Davis and "How To Read The Old & New Testaments" by Charpentier. For those who feel that this might threaten their faith, then they can at least study the parables that Christ used to stimulate thought (something that most churches sidestep all too often / or twist their meaning). I suggest starting here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Good_Samaritan Related topics: Codex Sinaiticus Dead Sea Scrolls Essenes |
| Posted 7/5/2009 6:59 PM CDT 32-year old Yoani Sanchez is no dissident, but her writings are "political dynamite". She's won numerous international awards for her blog chronicling her life in Cuba. Though she merely tells about daily life in Cuba, such is tantamount to rebellion. For example, when she held a party to celebrate the installing of a new elevator in her building (seven months after the old one broke down), the new one from Russia broke down too --- because "the bureaucrat who bought it skimped on the cables"... assuming that the old ones would work with the new lift. The result was a loud crash. The Week http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTerz_8g-eY&feature=fvw |
| Posted 7/3/2009 4:55 PM CDT Buy some lined index cards (pocket size) and a ball point pen (that clicks in, clicks out). Put in your shirt pocket. Everytime something happens (or you have an idea) that needs to be remembered, write it on a card. If it's an item that's time sensitive (e.g., to do), then write that date in the upper right hand corner. If it requires a certain place, person, etcetera then denote such in the upper left hand corner. I usually prefer using the blank side of the card in the vertical, but use the lined side for recording thoughts and such that aren't related to my to do & to buy project items. Lastly, buy an index card box for the pocket overflow of cards that are no longer a top priority but can't yet be trashed. tinyurl.com/n3vprh |
| Posted 6/28/2009 2:59 PM CDT "Political scientists from Columbia University analyzed the voting results released by the Iranian government and found that there was only a 1 in 200 chance that a certain numerical pattern would occur in a clean election. Their analysis was based on examining the last digits of vote totals for each candidate from each province. The chances are only a .13 percent chance that, based on the numbers in question, Iran’s election was not rigged To come up with the probability that the election was not rigged, the researchers used the Monte Carlo method, which uses repeated random computer simulations to calculate real-world probabilities." www.tinyurl.com/mcn6nw [Why am I not surprised....] |
| Posted 6/3/2009 2:55 PM CDT Because radioactive waste (spent fuel rods) is extremely dangerous for thousands of years, there's no feasible way to safely store it. However, one kind of nuclear reactor, the Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (SFR), can "burn" spent nuclear fuel rods from other types of reactors (and depleted uranium left over from the uranium-enrichment process), thus putting a dent in the 'nuclear waste problem'. This is because current thermal nuclear reactors use less than 1% of the nuclear fuel's potential energy --- the SFR extracts '100' times more energy. Note: The radioactive decay time of nuclear waste left over after 'reburning' spent fuel rods, etcetera in SFR has a reduced radioactive decay time of only a few hundred years --- which would make Nevada's Yucca mountain storage facility useable. Discover Magazine / June 2009 |
Posted 5/29/2009 5:13 PM CDT
Laser Fusion
A fusion ignition facility which uses the power of lasers to turn tiny hydrogen pellets into thermonuclear energy opened today. The device is expected to be the first to create more energy than it uses, releasing ten to 100 times more energy than the amount of laser energy required to initiate the fusion reaction.
It is hoped that the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility (NIF) will pave the way for commercial laser fusion power stations - potentially providing clean, almost limitless energy.
The NIF's laser - the most powerful in the world - will aim 192 beams of light at an area half a millimeter square in a burst lasting five billionths of a second. The beams produce a shock wave that slams into a tiny pellet of frozen hydrogen. This generates a temperature of tens of millions degrees C and a pressure of many billions of atmospheres, replicating the conditions found within a star. The hydrogen atoms fuse, producing helium and energy.
[Science may yet save the planet.]
www.tinyurl.com/mg37qa
www.tinyurl.com/lou4gl
https://lasers.llnl.gov/
A fusion ignition facility which uses the power of lasers to turn tiny hydrogen pellets into thermonuclear energy opened today. The device is expected to be the first to create more energy than it uses, releasing ten to 100 times more energy than the amount of laser energy required to initiate the fusion reaction.
It is hoped that the $3.5 billion National Ignition Facility (NIF) will pave the way for commercial laser fusion power stations - potentially providing clean, almost limitless energy.
The NIF's laser - the most powerful in the world - will aim 192 beams of light at an area half a millimeter square in a burst lasting five billionths of a second. The beams produce a shock wave that slams into a tiny pellet of frozen hydrogen. This generates a temperature of tens of millions degrees C and a pressure of many billions of atmospheres, replicating the conditions found within a star. The hydrogen atoms fuse, producing helium and energy.
[Science may yet save the planet.]
www.tinyurl.com/mg37qa
www.tinyurl.com/lou4gl
https://lasers.llnl.gov/
