Hunting Inspiration

The Region: Islamism: Back to the sources | JPost | Israel News -- It’s easy to see why Qaradawi is the leading Sunni Islamist thinker in the world today.

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 09:12:14 -0700

The Region: Islamism: Back to the sources | JPost | Israel News -- It’s easy to see why Qaradawi is the leading Sunni Islamist thinker in the world today.:

"QUOTE: There’s a lot of buzz at Washington State University over work to develop the first..."

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:27:06 -0700

“QUOTE: There’s a lot of buzz at Washington State University over work to develop the first sperm bank for honeybees. Entomologist Steve Sheppard and his crew are using liquid nitrogen to preserve semen extracted from the industrious insects that pollinate much of the nation’s food supply but face environmental threats. The goal is to preserve and improve the stock of honeybees and to prevent subspecies from extinction. “We do that frequently with horses and cattle and chickens,” said Susan Cobey, a research associate on the project. “Finally, we have the capability to do it with bees.” Honeybees are serious business. Washington’s $1 billion apple crop, for instance, needs 250,000 colonies of bees each year to pollinate the orchards. California almond growers need 1 million colonies per year to pollinate their crop. As a result, there is incentive to find ways to strengthen bee colonies. But the problem has been storing bee sperm for the long term. One of”

- University creates sperm bank for honeybees | Fox News

"We might become tentacled aliens in the end,” says Annalee Newitz in this week’s episode of the..."

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 11:13:46 -0700

““We might become tentacled aliens in the end,” says Annalee Newitz in this week’s episode of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. “And that’s okay. That’s a win, if we do that. Because it means we survived, and we changed to meet changing environmental conditions.””

- Humans May Become Tentacled Monsters, and That’s OK | Underwire | Wired.com

"Most models for dark matter assume that it interacts through exotic forces that we do not encounter..."

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 10:42:45 -0700

““Most models for dark matter assume that it interacts through exotic forces that we do not encounter in everyday life. Anapole dark matter makes use of ordinary electromagnetism that you learned about in school – the same force that makes magnets stick to your refrigerator or makes a balloon rubbed on your hair stick to the ceiling,” said Robert Scherrer, a theoretical physicists at Vanderbilt University. “Further, the model makes very specific predictions about the rate at which it should show up in the vast dark matter detectors that are buried underground all over the world. These predictions show that soon the existence of anapole dark matter should either be discovered or ruled out by these experiments.” The bulk of the atter in the universe may be made out of particles that possess an unusual, donut-shaped electromagnetic field called an anapole. This new theory, which endows dark matter particles with a rare form of electromagnetism, has been strengthened by a detailed analysis performed by aScherrer and post-doctoral fellow Chiu Man Ho. “There are a great many different theories about the nature of dark matter. What I like about this theory is its simplicity, uniqueness and the fact that it can be tested,” said Scherrer. In the article, titled “Anapole Dark Matter,” the physicists propose that dark matter, an invisible”

- “Anapole Dark Matter” —New Theory Explains Why Dark Matter Has Escaped Detection

"a group of Swedish researchers reported the first evidence that neurons are continually born..."

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:12:20 -0700

“a group of Swedish researchers reported the first evidence that neurons are continually born throughout the human lifespan. The researchers injected a compound normally used to label tumor cell division into patients who had agreed to have their brains examined after death. When the scientists examined the postmortem brain tissue, they found that new neurons had indeed sprung forth during adulthood. The cells were located in a part of the hippocampus—a pair of seahorse-shaped structures located deep within the brain and involved in memory and learning. The compound was later found to be toxic, however, and the experiment was never repeated. Since 1998, a number of studies have demonstrated that new neurons are generated in the same small region of the hippocampus in mice and appear to play an important role in memory and learning, says Kirsty Spalding, a molecular biologist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and lead author of the new study. Because the 1998 work was never confirmed by independent research, however, scientists have fiercely argued over whether the neuron birth seen in mice also occurs in people.”

- Atomic Bomb Fallout Helps Solve Brain Mystery | Wired Science | Wired.com

"Have you ever wondered which parts of the U.S. say “soda” and which parts say “pop”? Have you ever..."

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:15:06 -0700

“Have you ever wondered which parts of the U.S. say “soda” and which parts say “pop”? Have you ever wondered which areas pronounce pecan as “PEE-can” and which areas pronounce it “pee-KAHN”? Have you ever wondered how Texans pronounce the word “Bowie” (as in Bowie knife)? You’re in luck because Joshua Katz, a Ph. D student in statistics at North Carolina State University, is here to answer your questions with 105 charts detailing the differences in how Americans talk. “Starting with the point-referenced data from Bert Vaux’s online survey of English dialects, we used a k-nearest neighbor smoothing algorithm to estimate the probability of seeing a particular answer — eg, whether a person would say soda, pop, or coke — at every point in the continental US,” Katz, whose work was first published on Abstract, the N.C. State research blog, explains. “The composite map gives a picture of the overall distribution, coloring each cell according to whichever answer is estimated to be most likely at that location,” he add”

- 50 Fascinating Maps That Show the Difference in the Way Americans Talk | TheBlaze.com

"These posts that appear on this blog on Tuesdays are by Jacqueline Lichtenberg But occasionally, I..."

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 12:38:12 -0700

“These posts that appear on this blog on Tuesdays are by Jacqueline Lichtenberg But occasionally, I present a Guest Post by someone else. Today, we have an interesting one on SETTING. As I noted in Part 1 of this series on SETTING, I ran into Jose Bogran on the twitter chat #scifichat (Friday 2-4 PM Eastern) and today we have a second writing craft post from him. Good choices for SETTING come directly from pondering your THEME which we’ve been discussing in the advanced set of posts on Theme-Plot Integration these last few weeks. We’ll have to get down to the nitty-gritty of Theme-Setting Integration eventually. One of the first articles I ever wrote on writing craft had to do with the use of DETAIL, so I found it fascinating that J. H. Bogran has focused in on DETAIL in SETTING. Here are the links to prior posts on THEME-SETTING”

- alien romances: Settings Part 4: Detail - Guest Post by J. H. Bogran

"QUOTE: For example, Ludlow’s team found that the eruption of the Peruvian volcano, Huaynaputina, in..."

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:32:36 -0700

“QUOTE: For example, Ludlow’s team found that the eruption of the Peruvian volcano, Huaynaputina, in 1600 was associated with a few years of hard winter in Ireland. Chinese records also showed a cold winter after than eruption, according to a study published in the International Journal of Climatology. “The possibility that tropical eruptions may result in severe winter cooling for Ireland highlights the considerable complexity of the volcano-climate system in terms of the regional expression of the response of climate to volcanic disturbances,” said Ludlow. ANALYSIS: Volcanoes Erupting Around the World In total, Ludlow’s team observed 48 volcanic events between the years 431 and 1649. Of those, 38 correlated closely in time with 37 extreme Irish climate obs”

- Ireland’s Ancient Link to Volcanism Found : Discovery News

"The archaeologists Lourdes Lopez Camacho, from MNH and Guadalupe Espinosa, from the INAH Center in..."

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:22:26 -0700

“The archaeologists Lourdes Lopez Camacho, from MNH and Guadalupe Espinosa, from the INAH Center in Veracruz, approached the following subjects: The fountains in aqueducts, the case of the fountain of Chapultepec and How were the baths of Moctezuma in Chapultepec discovered?, respectively. Lopez Camacho said that historical archaeology in the hill of Chapulin has aided in documenting the way that ancient inhabitants of the Valley of Mexico had a true adoration for the woods and the water of Chapultepec, which dates back to the Teotihuacan epoch (100 BC through 600 AD). “Chapultepec was a sacred place. Ancient rulers, such as Moctezuma Ilhuicamina, Ahuizotl and Moctezuma Xocoyotzing, used to have temples and resting homes there, just like Texcoco, where Nezahualcoyotl, whom colonial chronicles attribute the construction of a pre Hispanic aqueduct that provided the Great Tenochtitlan with water”, explained the archaeologist. She added that the first aqueduct, made of reeds, stones and mud, was begun in 1418, a year after the death of Chimalpopoca, which marks the rise of the Mexica elite. By the ruling epoch of Moctexuma I, with the outlines of Nezahualcoyotl, they began the construction of the Stone channel, between the years 1454 and 1466.”

- The Archaeology News Network: Archaeological evidence of hydraulic system that provided water to City of Mexico

"WASHINGTON – The full-body scanners that caused an uproar for taking semi-scandalous snapshots of..."

Fri, 31 May 2013 14:31:09 -0700

“WASHINGTON – The full-body scanners that caused an uproar for taking semi-scandalous snapshots of fliers at security checkpoints have been removed from America’s airports. The move comes after a congressional mandate and several complaints lodged by privacy-rights activists who likened the scanners to a virtual strip search. Instead, airports will now use scanners that only show generic images of bodies, according to a letter released Thursday from TSA officials to members of the House Homeland Security Committee. “As of May 16, 2013, all AIT units deployed by TSA are equipped with (the body-masking) capability. Additionally, TSA’s procurement of next generation AIT requires” the same body-obscuring capability, TSA Administrator John Pistole wrote in the letter, according to The Hill. The scanners were first rolled out in 2007 and most had been pulled by May 16. The TSA told a congressional committee last year that the agency had spent $40 million on the Rapiscan machines and another $100 million on the less invasive model. The government had bought about 800 machines which were in use at 200 U.S. airports.”

- TSA gets rid of full-body scanners at US airports | Fox News

"QUOTE: The writer called a “distinctive and undervalued voice” by the ‘New York..."

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:48:46 -0700

“QUOTE: The writer called a “distinctive and undervalued voice” by the ‘New York Times Magazine’ was 96. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Jack Vance, an award-winning mystery, fantasy and science fiction author who wrote more than 60 books, has died. He was 96. Vance died Sunday evening at his home in Oakland, his son John Vance II told The Associated Press. Jack Vance, whose legal name was John Holbrook, published most of his work as Jack Vance, but he also wrote 11 mysteries as John Holbrook Vance and three as Ellery Queen, as well as books under the pen names of Alan Wade, Peter Held, John van See and Jay Kavanse, according to the Jack Vance website, which is maintained by family and friends. “This is a complex guy, and (there’s) an awful lot to say about him,” John Vance told the AP. In 2009, a profile in the New York Times Magazine described Vance as “one of American literature’s most distinctive and undervalued voices,” according to the website. Vance collected a number of awards over the years, including Hugo Awards for The Dragon Masters in 1963, The Last Castle in 1967, and for his memoir This is Me, Jack Vance! in 2010. “Author, friend, father and grandfather, there will never be another like Jack Vance,” his son said.”

- Author Jack Vance dies

"Turtle shells, which turn out to be complex structures made up of 50 bones, evolved long before..."

Thu, 30 May 2013 15:35:11 -0700

“Turtle shells, which turn out to be complex structures made up of 50 bones, evolved long before dinosaurs roamed the earth, according to new research. Turtles and their shells now predate the Jurassic period, according to a study in the latest issue of Current Biology. It’s a body design that was built to last, representing millions of years of fine-tuning. VIDEO: Millions of Turtles Killed Due to Bycatch Turtle shells began their transformation more than 260 million years ago in the Permian period, said Tyler Lyson, of Yale University and the Smithsonian, in a press release. “Like other complex structures, the shell evolved over millions of years and was gradually modified into its present-day shape.” The shell looks like just one solid shield, but because it’s made up of multiple bones, it is formed through the fusion of the turtle’s ribs and vertebrae. “The reason, I think, that more animals don’t form a shell via the broadening and eventually suturing together of the ribs is that the ribs of mammals and lizards are used to help ventilate the lungs,” Lyson said. “If you incorporate your ribs into a protective shell, then you have to find a new way to breathe!” He explained that turtles have done just that, with the help of a muscular sling. That system evolved in relatives of the turtle such as Eunotosaurus. Discovery of a well-preserved”

- How Turtles Got Their Shells : Discovery News

"QUOTE: What’s better than a robot that can serve you beer? How about a robot that can tell when..."

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:34:34 -0700

“QUOTE: What’s better than a robot that can serve you beer? How about a robot that can tell when you’re about to move your glass, so it doesn’t accidentally pour the beer straight into your lap? That’s the ambitious goal of computer scientists at Cornell’s Personal Robotics Lab, who equipped a PR2 robot with a Microsoft Kinect camera and a database of 3-D videos to teach it to anticipate human actions. So if you reach for your mug when it’s getting ready to pour you a brewski, it realizes that you might be about to move the mug—then waits until you’ve put it back before beginning to pour. The artificial intelligence involved is akin to the algorithms Google uses”

- Beer bot: Cornell PRL robot anticipations human actions, pours beer. (Video)

"QUOTE: When Microsoft launched its new Xbox One console last week, rave reviews calling it “awesome”..."

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:31:18 -0700

“QUOTE: When Microsoft launched its new Xbox One console last week, rave reviews calling it “awesome” and “stunning” were quickly forgotten when gamers began complaining about how the device doesn’t work with their old favorites (among other things). Now Microsoft has a new Xbox-related headache courtesy of Germany’s privacy chief, who is alarmed by its potential intrusive surveillance capabilities. The complaint stems from the latest version of the motion-sensing Kinect technology. The Kinect device designed for the Xbox One can monitor users’ movements with a camera that sees in the dark, picks up voice commands with a microphone, and reads your heart rate using infrared cameras that track blood flow underneath the skin. Because the device is connected to the Internet, malicious hackers could potentially hijack the console and use it for spying. In addition, Microsoft has filed a patent that suggests it is interested in using Kinect to count the number of people in a room in order to charge each person for providing pay-per-user content. The patent outlines how a camera could be used with face and gesture recognition as part of a Kinect-style system to enforce “age and identity restrictions” on certain kinds of content, effectively granting copyright holders virtual access to private dwellings, as Wired described it. Microsoft has attempted to play down the privacy fears, claiming that it is “a leader in the world of privacy” and adding that it is not “using Kinect to snoop on anybody at all.” But this has not convinced officials in Germany. In an interview published Sunday by Der Spiegel, the country’s federal data protection commissioner, Peter Schaar, said he was unsettled by how the Xbox One “records all sorts of personal information” that would be “processed on an external server” and possibly passed on to third parties. “The fact that Microsoft is now spyin”

- Germany privacy chief Peter Schaar calls Xbox One a “twisted nightmare” for Kinect spying potential.

"NEW YORK (AP) — After decades of decline, independent bookselling has become a growth industry. For..."

Tue, 28 May 2013 14:25:41 -0700

“NEW YORK (AP) — After decades of decline, independent bookselling has become a growth industry. For the fourth year in a row, membership has increased in the American Bookseller Association, the independent stores’ trade group. According to CEO Oren Teicher, the association now includes 1,632 members — some operating in multiple locations — up 65 from last year. In 2009, there were 1,401 members and strong pessimism in the face of superstore chains, the online power of Amazon.com and the recent financial crisis. Teicher notes the liquidation of Borders in 2011, but also credits the ongoing “buy local” movement and independents’ growing comfort with modern technology, whether for more efficient inventory systems or more effective online promotion. Another positive sign: Established stores, such as the Book Stall at Chestnut Court in Winnetka, Ill., have made successful transitions to younger ownership. “There was a time when people were ready to retire and couldn’t sell their stores, so they closed them,” Teicher says. “The fact that these stores are now remaining bodes well for the future.” Teicher and others see a reversal from the peak days of Barnes & Noble and Borders, when nonstop superstore expansion often forced out the smaller stores. Now, the problem has shifted from saturated neighborhoods to underserved neighborhoods. Industry analyst Mike Shatzkin cites not just the fall of Borders, but also the “sharp reduction in shelf space for books at B&N.” Shatzkin says demand for physical books is declining, but that physical stores have been shrinking even faster. “So the incumbents benefit and that means independents,” says Shatzkin, founder and chief executive of Idea Logical, a consultant to publishers. Independent sellers and superstores will gather this week along with thousands of publishers, writers, agents and librarians for the industry’s annual national convention, BookExpo America. The event runs Thursday-Saturday at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Featured speakers will include historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Bridget Jones” novelist Helen Fielding and a star among teens, “Divergent” author Veronica Roth. The book world meets at a moment of relative calm during an age of revolutionary change. Overall sales are steady and the e-book market is growing at a slower pace — a helpful trend for physical stores. “The years of spectacular share growth for e-books are over. The rise will be steady for a long time, but it won’t be explosive,” says Shatzkin, who adds that art books and other illustrated works are simply not “e-bookable.” At this time last year, the industry was wondering about the i”

- Book industry gathers for annual convention - Yahoo! News

"Bitcoin Users Will Freak Out When The See The Cruise Missile That The Justice Department Fired..."

Tue, 28 May 2013 13:36:58 -0700

“Bitcoin Users Will Freak Out When The See The Cruise Missile That The Justice Department Fired Against Another Digital Currency”

- Implications Of Liberty Reserve For Bitcoin - Business Insider
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Here’s the key language from the complaint (in bold):

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman said: “As charged, Liberty Reserve operated, on an enormous scale, a digital currency system designed to provide cyber and other criminals with a way to launder their profits without leaving a trace. The company’s very purpose was to launder its users’ criminal proceeds through the U.S. and global financial system.

Secret Service Special Agent-in-Charge Steven G. Hughes said: “These arrests are an example of the Secret Service’s commitment to investigate and apprehend criminals engaged in the misuse of virtual currencies to conduct global monetary fraud. Cyber criminals should be reminded today that they are unable to hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to avoid regulated financial systems.

Until just a few months ago, Bitcoin was known as much for its facilitating illicit activity as its mathematical and philosophical underpinnings. Bitcoin exchanges offer the same kind of anonymity and trace-less transactions as Liberty Reserve, and its users praise it for its ability to circumvent regulated financial systems.

We already know the CFTC is interested in Bitcoin. If the government now has the above-mentioned types of “virtues” in its crosshairs, Bitcoin users should be pretty concerne

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/implications-of-liberty-reserve-for-bitcoin-2013-5#ixzz2Ucbxbi3a

"Leonard Nimoy and other big names in the sci-fi arena have endorsed a new project from original..."

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:49:55 -0700

“Leonard Nimoy and other big names in the sci-fi arena have endorsed a new project from original Stark Trek writers David Gerrold and DC (Dorothy) Fontana and producer David C. Fein that’s aiming to raise funds via Kickstarter. our editor recommends Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto Face Off in Geeky Audi Ad (Video) ‘The Big Bang Theory’: Leonard Nimoy Reminds Sheldon of His Human Half (Exclusive Video) Benedict Cumberbatch Showers in Deleted ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ Scene (Video) The trio are using the crowd-funding platform to raise money to shoot and create a new science fiction adventure series titled The Star Wolf. So far, they have raised $52,000 of their $650,000 goal.”

- Leonard Nimoy Supports ‘Star Trek’ Writers’ Kickstarter-Funded Project (Exclusive)

19 Emotions For Which There Are No Words In English [Chart]

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:08:27 -0700

19 Emotions For Which There Are No Words In English [Chart]

What You Need To Know About The Graphic Design Industry [Infographic]

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:06:57 -0700

What You Need To Know About The Graphic Design Industry [Infographic]

"TiVo has become the Kleenex of the TV world — a once dominant brand that’s become a generic..."

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:37:55 -0700

“TiVo has become the Kleenex of the TV world — a once dominant brand that’s become a generic commodity. Yes, we still call recording a TV show “TiVoing.” But as cable and satellite companies started offering their own DVRs and cheap streaming boxes from Roku, Apple and others flooded the market, TiVO has been increasingly marginalized and risks irrelevancy. That’s changing, though, as the company moves beyond hardware to the far more lucrative world of software and licensing. TiVo recently updated its iPad app to include the discovery feature “What to Watch.” It provides personalized program recommendations based upon your viewing habits and what’s being broadcast right now. Forget the channel grid, What to Watch can tell you Gremlins is on. It’s a great update to an already stellar app that integrates nicely with TiVo’s set-top box. And it’s the future of the company. “We want to get you to the content you want through one easy interface,” said senior vice president of products and revenue, Jeff Klugman. TiVo always has been great at its core function: recording and watching TV. If you’ve ever used the DVR feature in a generic cable box, you know that truly useful DVR functionality is tougher than just putting a fast-forward feature on your cable box. TiVo’s strong suit always has been its software, which is intuitive, smoother, and generally looks like someone took time to create a UI that people can navigate. Unlike offerings from other DVR platforms. Hardware, however, has been another story. It wasn’t always this way. Two companies rolled into CES in 1999 with set-top boxes”

- TiVo’s Software Comeback | Gadget Lab | Wired.com