Teetering On A Knife's Edge @ 03/22/2008 09:56 PM
From BoingBoing: Good comment thread: What’s happened to the U.S. economy?:
There’s a good discussion revving up in the comment thread of Mark Frauenfelder’s entry, Documentary examines possibility of US dollar collapse.
Here’s one example comment:
And we’ve had this inflation/recession building up for approximately a decade now. It could take at least that long to get back out of it. So I would not chalk this up to “fear mongering”. Fear mongering of the phantom menace called “terrorism” is what got us into this hole.
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Blogging From Google Docs @ 03/12/2008 12:30 PM
I just discovered today that I can post to my blog from Google Docs. This is good news for me because I can’t post directly from my workstation (‘The Websense category “Message Boards and Forums” is filtered.’). Unfortunately, I still can’t see my blog from work. Still, half a glass full is better than an altogther empty glass.
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Something For Everyone @ 03/11/2008 10:15 PM
Via Science Blog: Possibly Once-Habitable Ancient Mars Lake Found:
Scientists studying images from The University of Arizona-led High Resolution Imaging Experiment camera on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have discovered never-before-seen impact “megabreccia” and a possibly once-habitable ancient lake on Mars at a place called Holden crater.
Via Slashdot: A One-Way, One-Person Mission to Mars:
Will humans ever really go to Mars? Let’s face it, the obstacles are quite daunting. Not only are there numerous, difficult, technical issues to overcome, but the political will and perseverance of any one nation to undertake such an arduous task just can’t be counted on. However, one former NASA engineer believes a human mission to Mars is quite doable, and such an event would unify the world as never before. But Jim McLane’s proposal includes a couple of major caveats: the trip to Mars should be one-way, and have a crew of only one person.
Via National Geographic News: Saturn Moon May Have Rings — A First:
Rhea, Saturn’s second largest moon, may be the first known moon with its own small system of rings, astronomers announced.
Via Lifehacker: If It Doesn’t Rot, Don’t Eat It:
Web site AlterNet interviews health author Michael Pollon to discuss the state of the food industry and its relation to our health. The interview offers several interesting health tips, but if you’re looking for quick and simple rules of thumb to add to your health regimen, Pollon suggests one tip that’s sure to help: “don’t eat any food that’s incapable of rotting.” This idea subscribes to the common wisdom that the more processed a food is (and therefore, less susceptible to rot), the less healthy it is. Granted, this isn’t an altogether new idea (nor is it without exceptions), but it is a good rule of thumb to keep in mind next time you’re reaching into your snack pantry.
And finally, from Dan Phiffer, via Boing Boing:
Left: All the water in the world (1.4087 billion cubic kilometres of it) including sea water, ice, lakes, rivers, ground water, clouds, etc. Right: All the air in the atmosphere (5140 trillion tonnes of it) gathered into a ball at sea-level density. Shown on the same scale as the Earth.
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Cool: Emergency Reponse Unit @ 02/21/2008 11:47 AM
Via Boing Boing Gadgets: Emergency Response Unit:
Since the 2004 Asia tsunami, there has been a glut of designs and competitions aimed at better aid distribution in crisis zones. Most are unremarkable and not particularly well developed solutions. The ‘Bedu’ Emergency Rapid Response by Toby McInnes is a breath of functional air. It is designed to fit within the current logistical framework and features just about everything you could possibly need. All rolled up neatly in a barrel. If only it assembled itself.
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More Light Reading... @ 01/24/2008 05:02 PM
Climate Change
- Arctic Sea Ice Gone in Summer Within Five Years?
- Arctic Warming Faster Above Ground Level, Study Finds
- Warming Autumns May Hinder Plants’ Climate-Cooling Role
- Oddball Weather Events Add to Record Breaking 2007
- Study links increased mortality specifically to carbon dioxide emissions
- Antarctica Ice Loss Faster Than Ten Years Ago
- Northeast US Winters Warming Faster Than Other Seasons?
- Scientist Chases Fast-Melting Tropical Glaciers
- 2007 was tied as Earth’s second warmest year
Mars
Helpful Tips
Just Plain Scary
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