NASAdude

A guy got robbed at gunpoint and towed all in a 15 minute window. Well... he almost got towed. He couldn't convince the towing company to not tow his car, but fortunately he was just robbed at gunpoint (?) and the police were on the scene, who managed to keep the victim's car from being towed. There is no word if the police had to draw their weapons to fend off the tow truck.

All this happened a block from my home.

You've got to love "happy valley". I think there are more tow trucks in town than there are bars. For most cities that wouldn't be saying much, but for a small college town with a bar on every corner (or more) that's a lot.

One thing that did disappoint Hall, however, was that "while all this was going on" a tow-truck company had arrived to haul away his assistant manager's car. "There was no sympathy from the tow-truck company whatsoever," said Hall, who was at the scene. The police had to explain that the car should not be towed, he said. The owners of the tow-truck company could not be reached for comment.

Posted by NASAdude at 09:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From the annals of science, a finger up your butt can cure hiccups. In more scientific terminology, that translates as "The Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Massage," but it's really the same thing.

Now I have a better understanding of this video from about half a year ago. The monkey was trying to cure her own hiccups.

Now you know. Isn't science empowering?

Posted by NASAdude at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's time to get your book on. On Google's book search page you can download/print the full text of many "classic" books that are in the public domain.

Long live the free press... free of the chains of copyright!

Press release.

Posted by NASAdude at 12:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We all know about the LED belt buckle. But now there's... ...the equalizer t-shirt, which graphically represents the ambient audible spectrum ...the digital watch shirt ...the decibel-meter shirt ...the fedex shirt (oops... this is just a gag shirt and has no embedded technology) You can accessorize these shirts with a wi-fi flower, which changes color depending on the signal strength of nearby wi-fi hotspots.

Posted by NASAdude at 03:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A recently published article reports that an unhappy AOL customer tried to cancel his account. When the customer service representative didn't want to let him cancel, it took the customer a total of a 21 minute phone call (including automated response and hold-time) to get the account cancelled. The customer decided to share a 5-minute recording of the call just to share how frustrating it was.

What's even more of a shock is how much time in total people have wasted talking to AOL reps trying to cancel.

"When AOL customers call to cancel, the average duration of the call is 10 to 11 minutes. If we generously assume the shorter time, then the three million members who dropped AOL in the 12 months through March had to make an involuntary investment equivalent to 250 work-years in order to wriggle free."

I verified the math. It works out to 249.1 work-years if you use the typical worktime assumptions and multiply by a 10-minute phone call per cancellation:
- 8 hours / work day
- 5 days / work week
- 50 weeks / work year

If AOL had a form to allow people to do the cancellation online, things would be different. Let's assume it would take about 15 seconds (the article assumes 2 seconds, which is a bit quick). That 15 seconds for 3-million people would equate to 6.2 work-years. That's still a lot of time, but a lot less frustration.

Posted by NASAdude at 11:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It looks like Wesley Fellowship is creating troublemakers across the country, including the University of Georgia.

ATF agents are always on alert for anything suspicious -- including ninjas. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm agents ... detained a "suspicious individual" near the Georgia Center, University Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said.

Jeremiah Ransom, a sophomore from Macon, was leaving a Wesley Foundation pirate vs. ninja event when he was detained.
...

"It was surreal," Ransom said. "I was jogging from Wesley to Snelling when I heard someone yell 'freeze.'"
Ransom said he thought a friend was playing a joke before he realized officers had guns drawn and pointed at him.
Full article

It's not a party until a federal agent pins you to the ground, cuffs you, and holds you there by putting his knee on your neck.

That does *not* look comfortable. I smell a lawsuit. Gotta love cell-phone cameras.

More about this story.

Posted by NASAdude at 09:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now when you go through the drive-thru at McD, your order might be taken by someone in another state where there is a lower minimum wage.

Source

Is this a good thing?

Posted by NASAdude at 06:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I read this article this weekend and wanted to share it.

It's pretty simple. Since marriage is a partnership in life, why not just make it a legal partnership right from the beginning?

What business does the government have regulating marriage? ... Colin A.P. Jones, an American attorney and professor at a Japanese law school, offers a "free market solution." Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, he argues for the need to break up the "government monopoly" on marriage. Instead of one set of marriage laws that apply to everyone, he proposes using the model of corporation law. Marriage would become the formation of a corporate partnership.

"Couples entering into marriage," Mr. Jones says, "should be able to use a partnership agreement that is tailored to their own circumstances and aspirations, one that reflects the values and expectations that they themselves attach to marriage."

Continue reading "The business of marriage" »

Posted by NASAdude at 01:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I think this fellow was trying to get an entry in the annual Darwin Awards.

I was trying to think of a caption for the photo...
- things *not* to do inside your new car
- fun with science
- a practical-joker's guide to mayhem
- ???

Here's the story:

A man from Sheridan is facing explosives charges after he accidentally blew up his own car with a gas-filled balloon he was taking to a Super Bowl party.
...
they were taking a balloon to a Super Bowl party -- a balloon filled with acetylene, a very explosive gas used in welding -- so they could blow up the balloon while celebrating.

However, on the drive, the balloon rolled across the back seat, possibly causing static electricity, and igniting the gas, causing it to explode.
--
Source

Continue reading "Darwin Award entry?" »

Posted by NASAdude at 11:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A few months ago I reviewed the P-Mate product, which is designed to allow women to urinate while standing.

I came across another product for the same purpose. The Travel Mate (pictured above) offers a lot of the same benefits but is more reusable (plastic rather than paper) and it has a wide variety of accessories available.

Now some of you might be thinking, "I don't need no stinking P/Travel-Mate! I can pee standing up just like every other mammal!" Ok, maybe that's not exactly your thought, but the point is valid. There's no reason both men and women can't pee standing up. No muss, no fuss.

"What I discover is that, if the male organ is like an automatic camera (just point and shoot), the female organ is rather more like an SLR. You have to get all the bits in the right place to get it right. Or, as Denise puts it on Restrooms.org: 'It's like learning how to whistle. You have to learn how to position your lips for the best results."
-- Source

Here is a really helpful guide on how to pee standing up for women who are unfamiliar with the skill. I use the word skill deliberately; it may take some practice to attain accuracy, but isn't it worth the effort?

Continue reading "P-Mate: Attack of the clones! (Episode 2)" »

Posted by NASAdude at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like Psycho? Norman Bates stuffed his mother using his taxidermy skills; these fine folks used other methods.

A woman whose mummified body was dressed in a white gown and placed in front of a television for two and a half years died from heart disease.

Continue reading "Caring for your mummy" »

Posted by NASAdude at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Glow-in-the-dark porkers!

As seen in daylight.

While Dark Angel is a fictional tale of how government abuses ignore human rights, and how the general population sees transgenics as sub-human, the real world can gain great benefits from the work.

In daylight the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge.

In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright.
The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig's genetic material is green, it is easy to spot.

So if, for instance, some of its stem cells are injected into another animal, scientists can track how they develop without the need for a biopsy or invasive test.

-- Source

Posted by NASAdude at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It started with a dream, a dream to get $1,000,000 (and more) from greedy marketers.

And it worked!

You can be the last. The last 1000 pixels (50x20 block), with a list-value of $1000, are up for sale on ebay. As of this writing, it's already selling for over $150,000. You have three days left to beat the highest bid.

But it won't bring you any happiness.

Update:
The auction is now closed, with a winning bid of $38,100. This is typical for many high-end Ebay auctions; bidders back out so the ending bid doesn't meet the hype.

Posted by NASAdude at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm sure this is just a coincidence (yeah, right!) with this news coming on the heels of all the Intelligent Design news.

The prestigious US journal Science publishes its top 10 list of major endeavours at the end of each year. The number one spot was awarded jointly to several studies that illuminated the intricate workings of evolution. -- source

Also check out the amusing comments on Slashdot.

Posted by NASAdude at 05:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Hot off the presses... Pennsylvania District Courts determine that intelligent design shall not be taught in high school science classes.

Dover Area School Board members violated the Constitution when they ordered that its biology curriculum must include the notion that life on Earth was produced by an unidentified intelligent cause, U.S. District Judge John E. Jones III said.

Continue reading "Intelligent Design Update" »

Posted by NASAdude at 02:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moscow archives show that in the mid-1920s Russia's top animal breeding scientist, Ilya Ivanov, was ordered to turn his skills from horse and animal work to the quest for a super-warrior. According to Moscow newspapers, Stalin told the scientist: "I want a new invincible human being, insensitive to pain, resistant and indifferent about the quality of food they eat."

Mr Ivanov's ideas were music to the ears of Soviet planners and in 1926 he was dispatched to West Africa with $200,000 to conduct his first experiment in impregnating chimpanzees. Meanwhile, a centre for the experiments was set up in Georgia - Stalin's birthplace - for the apes to be raised. Mr Ivanov's experiments, unsurprisingly from what we now know, were a total failure. He returned to the Soviet Union, only to see experiments in Georgia to use monkey sperm in human volunteers similarly fail. -- Source

Posted by NASAdude at 09:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tho the dark be cold and blind,
Yet her sea-fog's touch is kind,
And her mightier caress
Is joy and the pain thereof;
And great is thy tenderness,
O cool, grey city of love!
-- George Sterling. 1923.

The graphic depicts the locations chosen by jumpers on the Golden Gate Bridge. Center-span appears to be very popular. There is a lengthy supporting article with statistics and anecdotes.

What I'd want to know is:
1) What locations are most successful?
2) What locations are least likely for one to experience outside interference, especially by police?

That's the sort of data that could be really useful.

"If you're a failure, you can always do this." -- Eve Meyer, executive director of San Francisco Suicide Prevention

Continue reading "Gateway to the End" »

Posted by NASAdude at 01:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wouldn't this sell better under the name P-Male? The P-Mate product allows women to urinate while standing. It's marketed for use while camping/hiking and any time the facilities are not conducive to sitting down. If utilized en-mass at stadiums/festivals/theaters/etc, long lines at the women's restroom might be no more.

Now women can pee in the alleys of top universities at 2am with the rest of the drunks, without worrying about being seen squatting in public or peeing on their shoes. Maybe this is the end of the marital conflict of leaving the toilet seat up or down.

It might reduce the Freudian concept of penis envy for some women. Or it could be one step toward a new penis panic for men. Hopefully most people can see beyond these ideas.

It's a great product idea. Already in use in Europe, will it become a popular item in the US?

Also: prnewswire, gizmag, standard.net, post-gazette, photo/demo

Posted by NASAdude at 12:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Here is a man willing to have his left ring finger amputated to improve his career in professional football. First, I have to wonder what his wife thinks of that if he's married. The next thought is:

What do you value in your life, and what are you willing to give up to keep it? Is there anything in your life that you value so highly that you'd give up:

• a finger


• a foot


• a hand


• an eye


• your friends


• your career


• your freedom


• a winning $200 million lottery ticket


• your vote


• your home


• your marriage


• your life


• your child's life

What is it that you use to gauge something's worth? What does that say about you?

Football Player Plans to Amputate Finger

An Australian professional football player said Tuesday he plans to have one of his fingers amputated in an attempt to improve his game.

Brett Backwell, who plays Australian rules football for Glenelg, a suburb of the city of Adelaide in South Australia state, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. he has suffered from pain and restricted movement since he broke his left ring finger three years ago.

Doctors had suggested fusing the bones in the finger, but Backwell rejected the proposal.

He said he believed that amputating the finger was the only way to stop the pain and allow him to keep playing.

"To chop a finger off, that's a bit drastic," Backwell told the ABC. "But I love my footy (football), and love playing sport, and if that's going to help me to succeed at this level then it's something you've just got to do."

Posted by NASAdude at 05:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mazda has come out with a new ignition strategy -- a USB drive. I'm not convinced it's a great move; I think RF transponders with rotating codes or cryptographically signed handshaking might be a more utilitarian solution. Being able to upload data into the car is nice. It would be even nicer if they gave access to the OBD-II data via the USB.

And it's put into a 3-cyl 1.0-L car. That's the same type engine my first car had. The way energy costs (and supply) are going, it may be the engine in my next car.

Mazda throws away key for USB

The USB (universal serial bus) feature will be part of its Sassou concept car, a small hatchback aimed at the youth market, Mazda said this week. The car will be unveiled at this month's Frankfurt Motor Show.

Sassou uses a USB "key" and interface port that will let drivers program and load files onto the car's hard drive. But auto industry watchers note that such a feature may take years to show up on showroom floors--or it may never make it that far.

...

See also: Slashdot, stuff.co.nz, everythingusb.com, realtechnews.com

Posted by NASAdude at 11:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's all come to a head. Google is pulling out all the stops. Their latest proposal, Google Purge, will destroy all copyrighted materials that cannot be searched by Google:

• Book burning
• anything the Google Sound global microphone network can't pick up will be silenced by noise-cancellation machines in low-Earth orbit
• hard drives of any computer that is not indexed by Google Desktop Search will be erased
• Google's robot army, each robot capable of capturing and scanning up to 100 humans per day... resistance to indexing will result in the subject's brain being liquified

Google Announces Plan To Destroy All Information It Can't Index

Executives at Google, the rapidly growing online-search company that promises to "organize the world's information," announced Monday the latest step in their expansion effort: a far-reaching plan to destroy all the information it is unable to index.

Continue reading "Google Purge" »

Posted by NASAdude at 07:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So now there's an allowable quota for cursing in class for certain UK students. Is this reasonable or unreasonable?

From a sociological standpoint, what makes one word taboo and not others? From an academic standpoint, it all seems so silly. If you want to learn more, the wikipedia entry on profanity is enlightening on this question.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit is the spoken Russian-based language, mat, which is derived entirely from four profane root words. Yes, you can hold a conversation comprised entirely of profanity. For example, a mat dictionary lists 500 words derived from one of the four root words.

We'll just have to assume that the mat language won't be permitted in classes at the school mentioned in the article... at least no more than five words of it per lesson.

School gives pupils f-word limit

Pupils are being allowed to swear at one Northamptonshire secondary school - as long as they limit their use of bad language to five times a lesson. A tally of how many times the f-word is used will be kept on the board.

Continue reading "Curse quota" »

Posted by NASAdude at 06:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a touchy topic for a lot of people, so I hesitated for a few days to post it.  I'll keep the quoted text to a minimum, so you'll need to do extra clicking to go outside this blog if you want to read it all.  I'm sorry for being such a windbag on this topic.  There's a fun thought experiment at the end for any of you who make it that far.

A team of French researchers managed today both to speed up and slow down light. Normally light travels about 300 million meters per second, but the team was able to slow it down by a factor of 3.6, or make it travel slightly faster. The researchers say slowing down light will help signal processing, allowing us to vastly speed up telecommunications. 
Source: Technocrat

So what's the big deal?  As one commenter said regarding the faster than light claim, "I call bullshit."  For the sake of the average person's understanding of the matter, that comment is right on the money.  Can we travel faster than light (without using some so far unattained "tricks" used in common science fiction stories)?  No.  Specifically, information cannot travel faster than light.  Arguably, photons themselves might be convinced to go faster than light... but not convey any information.

Keep in mind that the claim of slowing light down is not a big deal.  The "speed of light" commonly references is that of light traveling through a vacuum.  Light goes slower through any other matter, such as water, glass, air, etc. 

Cerenkov radiation is an interesting example of charged particles going faster than the speed of light in water (0.75 c).  The result is a blue glow around the submerged reactor.  The photo to the right is an image of the nuclear reactor at PSU.  At night on campus you can pick NucE students out of a crowd by their faint blue glow.  ... just kidding.

So how did they get a result that showed faster than light (c) velocities?  I'm not fully qualified to explain it, so I'll give a few references.  The key to it is the difference between light's group velocity and phase velocity.  Commenters (1, 2) to the Slashdot article give a little insight into the difference.  This page has a really good animated graphic to help you understand the illusion of faster-than-light information transfer. 

This Science Blog article on this gives a good explanation of why changing light's velocity is important to the future of communications.  This MSNBC article covers a similar story back in 2000.

Continue reading "Faster than light" »

Posted by NASAdude at 02:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

Here's another example of bad conclusions (and legistation?) coming from good research.

Is it surprising that emotion would affect how the brain processes data? It's not a surprise to me that if I crash cymbals behind someone who is memorizing automatically-progressing flash cards, they might "forget" what happened a few tenths of a second before and after.

Clearly we must make anything that causes an emotional response illegal. The first step should be banning emotionally-provoking images along highways. We all know that we're memorizing the things that we see along the road as we drive, and we don't want that interrupted.

Isn't it clear that anything that catches your attention ("good" or "bad") will decrease your attention toward nearby (spatially or temporally) things? It seems that is the definition of somthing that "caught my attention". Therefore we should overreact and apply an extreme moralistic (republican?) view and try to ban certain images from along our roadways.

Sexy images hurt your eyesight

Researchers have finally found evidence for what good Catholic boys have known all along - erotic images make you go blind.

According to a report in New Scientist, the research has added to road-safety campaigners' calls to ban sexy billboard-advertising near busy roads, in the hope of preventing accidents.

The new study by US psychologists found that people shown erotic or gory images frequently fail to process images they see immediately afterwards. And the researchers say some personality types appear to be affected more than others by the phenomenon, known as "emotion-induced blindness".

Continue reading "Science blindness" »

Posted by NASAdude at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (1)

I saw a monarch butterfly today, and it made me think of this article. I'd put this item on the back burner for a few days. The major problem with the article is that it doesn't say how monarchs use UV for navigation.

Other great questions are: how exactly does genetic memory work, how is it triggered, and how is it created and altered? An understanding of genetic memory and gene therapy might one day benefit our species. Imagine not spending the first 18-25 (or more) years of your life in school.
Of course the republicans would want to use the technology to embed their version of morality on everyone on a genetic level. Carl Rove would love that.

Even with my criticisms of the article, it's a nice picture for the blog, and it is an interesting topic.

How Butterflies Fly Thousands Of Miles Without Getting Lost Revealed By Researchers

The phenomenon of long-range bird migration is a well-known one, but not in the insect world. Also, among birds their migration route is a round-trip one, which they make more than once in their lifetimes, while for the monarch it is strictly a one-way trip for each butterfly. How do these creatures do it?

Continue reading "Monarch migration" »

Posted by NASAdude at 10:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I wonder if this is why I'm not having any luck.  I've been planting my messages in wheat, when I should have been using corn.

This is one of the perplexing problems of our time.  How does one go about indicating to others that he (or perhaps more problematic, she) is available for courting.

There used to be fairly well-defined guidelines for the process, but now they are a lot more subtle and confusing.  How do you let someone know that you like them and are interested in pursing a relationship?

Farmer writes personal ad in cornfield

It sounds a little corny. A farmer looking for love has planted a personals ad, using corn stalks in a cow pasture. It reads: "S.W.F Got-2 (love symbol) Farm'n." Underneath is a 1,000-foot-long arrow pointing single white females to his house.

Continue reading "Farm personal ad" »

Posted by NASAdude at 03:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's all down to a science now... at least in theory. I don't see this research affecting my life at all, though. I think I'm one of the noble element... destined to never bond with another element.

Physics enlisted to help singles

Successful couples are said to have chemistry, but a study by an Oxford graduate suggests that dating may actually have more to do with physics.

Richard Ecob adapted a system for modeling atoms in radioactive decay to investigate how we look for partners. He found that "super daters", people who have many short relationships, have a good effect on others' lives. This is because they break up weak couples, forcing their victims to find better relationships.

Continue reading "Physics of Dating" »

Posted by NASAdude at 08:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So how much do Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier make each year? Stay tuned!

It would be beneficial to the student body to know how much money is spent toward salaries and benefits of high-ranking PSU employees. That benefit could also be extended to the general public, as Penn State receives large contributions of taxpayer's money from the state every year.

While neither taypayers or students have any real say in pay rates at PSU, keeping this information secret only encourages abuse. Open information would allow students or the public to put forth pressure to correct anything deemed popularly unjust.

Now only if PA taxpayers had more say about the overpaid state legislature.
8/14 update - It's not easy to find out how much PA politicians make

Paterno's salary should be public, court rules
The Associated Press
Article source
miami.com anonymous login: momoney@momoney.com pass: bigdogg1 (courtesy bugmenot.com)
CentreDaily.com link (added 8/13)

HARRISBURG -- Salary information for Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and other high-ranking university officials are public records and should be released to a reporter, a Commonwealth Court panel ruled today.

The 3-2 decision said the State Employees' Retirement System board correctly decided last year to grant a request by reporter Jan Murphy of The Patriot-News of Harrisburg for documents that reflect years of service, salary and salary history.

Along with Paterno, Murphy's request also covered Richard Althouse, the university's budget officer; Rodney Erickson, an executive vice president and the provost; and Gary Schultz, the senior vice president of finance and business and treasurer.

Continue reading "How much is too much?" »

Posted by NASAdude at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One in 27 kids' fathers really isn't their father.
One in 5 women in long-term relationships are unfaithful.
One in 3 pregnancies are unplanned.
Source

So your father may not even be your father, your girlfriend/wife is likely cheating on you, and look out, you might be a parent from that last romantic interlude.

What's the point of dating again?

Posted by NASAdude at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wal-Mart Nixes 'Singles Shopping'
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) -- Wal-Mart has ditched a program that helped single shoppers find love in the discount store's aisles.

Officials at Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., ordered their Roanoke store to put an end to Singles Shopping, the only program of its kind at Wal-Mart's U.S. stores.

Taking a cue from Wal-Marts in Germany, the month-old program encouraged customers on Friday evenings to pick up a red bow they could place on their shopping carts as an invitation to other singles. "Flirt points" were set up in various sections of the store.

A Wal-Mart spokesman declined to comment on the reason behind the program's cancellation. But customer Dale Firebaugh, who showed up Friday night hoping to meet his match, said store employees told him several people had complained.

"I'm disappointed," said Firebaugh, 63. "Where can someone over 40 who doesn't smoke or drink or go to bars meet someone?"

Maybe we should bring our own red ribbons for our carts. Don't let The Man stop our dream of buying a microwave, a shower curtain, shoes, and steak, all while flirting with other singles.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart's dating service ends" »

Posted by NASAdude at 07:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Those wacky Brits!

UK company launches in-car toilet

Geoff Adams-Spink

A portable, in-car lavatory has been launched by a British firm for use by people with medical conditions, as well as families with small children.

The Indipod, made by Bromsgrove-based Daycar, is aimed at people with bowel and bladder problems.

The chemical toilet is housed in an inflatable "bubble" which is powered from the car's cigarette lighter.

It is designed to be used in multi-purpose vehicles, four-wheel drives and estate cars.

The Indipod is on display at Naidex 2005, an exhibition of products for disabled people at the NEC in Birmingham.

When not is use, the Indipod folds away into a bag the size of a suitcase and weighs 8kg.

"When we developed it we thought it would be for families, kids going out for the day or on holiday," Daycar managing director, Barbara May, told the BBC News website.

"But we've had an excellent response from people with medical conditions."

Continue reading "Porta-potty on wheels" »

Posted by NASAdude at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Some of you might find this interesting. Source.

Cavers have ventured deeper into the Earth than anyone has been before.

A Ukrainian team has reached a record depth of 2,080m (6,822ft), passing the elusive 2,000m mark at Krubera, the world's deepest known cave.

The nine-strong group were part of a project that has made breaking the 2,000m depth its goal for four years.

They built on records set by a previous expedition, which blasted through blocked passages in the cave, within Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia.

"Even now, we don't know whether we've reached the limit - or if it will go on. We're pretty sure we'll eventually go even lower," said Alexander Klimchouk, the veteran caver who organised the mission.

The Ukrainian Speleological Association's Call of the Abyss project is funded by the US National Geographic Society.

During an expedition from August to September 2004, a team of 56 cavers (45 men and 11 women) representing seven countries explored Kubera, deep below the Arabika mountain massif of the western Caucasus.

Continue reading "Cavers go deeper" »

Posted by NASAdude at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Depression may up risk of dementia in men. Source

By Michelle Rizzo

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men with a history of depression long before the onset of any memory or other cognitive problems have a substantially higher risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD), later in life, a study indicates. This risk is not observed in women.

Continue reading "Depression may up risk of dementia in men" »

Posted by NASAdude at 08:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I guess Sam isn't that odd. Well... at least with all his crocheting.

source

It's true: Guys join the knitting craze
By Martha Irvine, AP National Writer | February 3, 2005

CHICAGO -- Eric Garcia and Matthew Kane are holed up in a classroom corner, chatting casually as they each knit a sock for a school project. They ponder the thought that their actions might be a little, well, unexpected.

"Girls can be truckers," says 11-year-old Eric.

"Yeah, girls can be truckers," echoes Matthew, who's also 11 and a fellow fifth-grader at Chicago's Waldorf School. "So why can't guys be knitters?"

Fact is, a lot of guys are taking up knitting, especially as the hobby surges in popularity on college campuses, in coffee shops and at the many yarn stores that are sprouting up in cities across the country.

Continue reading "Men in tights? No, men who knit!" »

Posted by NASAdude at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This page has a bunch of photos that depict what happens when a deer's and a car's respective paths intersected. Be warned that there is a lot of blood/gore in the pictures, so make sure you're eating when you click the link. You have been warned.

Posted by NASAdude at 09:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's how to do better in school!  I'm not sure how the time wasted in a relationship can help your grades, but how can you disagree with science? 

Regular sex helps students

A German sociologist Werner Habermehl says regular sex can help university students pass exams and get better grades.

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