Clipmarks | Kelika's Comments

Beautiful Visual Maths Stuff

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 22:02:25 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Boy’s Surface (Bryant-Kusner Parametrization) - new version: POV-Ray 3.6.1, 6/20/06
old version: Mathematica 4.2, MathGL3d, POV-Ray 3.6.1, 5/24/05

This one-sided surface was first parametrized correctly by Bernard Morin. The animation looks like it’s turning inside-out, although technically that’s impossible because it only has one side! Robert Bryant told me that the parameters (p,q) = (0,1) give this Willmore immersion of RP² a trilateral symmetry. The parameters (p,q) = (1,0) should give bilateral symmetry. Click here to download some POV-Ray code for this image.

Clifford Torus - Mathematica 4.2, POV-Ray 3.6.1, 8/12/08

The Hopf map is a special transformation invented by Heinz Hopf that maps to each point on the ordinary 3D sphere from a unique circle of points on the 4D sphere

Inside the Flat (Euclidean) Dodecahedron - POV-Ray 3.6.1, 2/12/07

Here is a dodecahedron viewed from the inside with flat mirrored walls.

Links

This 3D vortex image is hidden in the above pictur

Tags: mathematics, topology, visual maths

US Can Block Mad Cow Testing

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:43:16 GMT

clipped by: Imnclady

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

Court: US can block mad cow testing

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration can prohibit meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease, a federal appeals court said Friday.

The dispute pits the Agriculture Department, which tests about 1 percent of cows for the potentially deadly disease, against a Kansas meat packer that wants to test all its animals.

Larger meat packers opposed such testing. If Creekstone Farms Premium Beef began advertising that its cows have all been tested, other companies fear they too will have to conduct the expensive tests.

The Bush administration says the low level of testing reflects the rareness of the disease. Mad cow disease has been linked to more than 150 human deaths worldwide, mostly in Great Britain. Only three cases have been reported in the U.S., all involving cows, not humans.

the Agriculture Department can only regulate disease "treatment.

no cure for mad cow disease

test is performed on dead animals,

ruled, the test is not a treatment.

Tags: disease, animals, court, us, death, farming

Here we go again

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:03:49 GMT

clipped by: reimers
clipper's remarks: can't wait to spend 8 hours in traffic evacuating again.

Clip Source: www.nhc.noaa.gov

What Your Government Knows About Cannabis And Cancer — And Isn’t Telling You

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:36:12 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: Not familiar with this scientific research? Your government is.

Clip Source: www.nwotruth.com

What Your Government Knows About Cannabis And Cancer — And Isn’t Telling You

Not familiar with this scientific research? Your government is.

In fact, the first experiment documenting pot’s potent anti-cancer effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest federal bureaucrats. The results of that study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that marijuana’s primary psychoactive component, THC, “slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent.”

Fortunately, in the past 10 years scientists overseas have generously picked up where U.S. researchers so abruptly left off, reporting that cannabinoids can halt the spread of numerous cancer cells — including prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and brain cancer.

rather than publicize their findings, the U.S. government shelved the results,

Tags: cannabis, cancer

Buddhist Cave Art

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:49:58 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.paulstravelblog.com

The Ajanta caves, set in a bend in the Waghur River, a day's travel east of Bombay

The Ajanta caves are cut out of the cliff itself, with rock chiseled away to form spectacular interiors of monasteries and shrines

High relief composition at Ajanta

Paintings at Ajanta

Ellora Caves

Statuary, Ellora

Tags: art, buddhism, india

The investigation of laughter is belatedly becoming a science..:-)

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:19:49 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: In 1923 a theoretical tome listed 88 different theories of humour, few of which seemed to acknowledge that it is supposed to be enjoyable. The theories can be divided into three main types:

Clip Source: www.moreintelligentlife.com

The study of laughter has entered mainstream psychology. Anthony Gottlieb reads the reports--and a new book on the history of jokes--and finds much to chuckle

Recent studies of twins, they reported, suggested that there may be a genetic explanation for some differences between British and American styles of humou

The real news is that the investigation of humour is belatedly becoming a science. After millennia of untested speculation by armchair thinkers, moves are afoot to bring the study of laughter into the mainstream of experimental psychology.

"The Psychology of Humor",

suggest that on average people laugh 17.5 times per day. And a good sense of humour tends to be one of the most highly rated traits when people choose their friends, lovers or spouses. So psychologists have every reason to take humour seriously.

Clip Source: wwnorton.com

Clip Source: www.moreintelligentlife.com

One popular field of research is the effect of humour on health

then it should be associated with longevity

Why is pleasure so suspicious?

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 06:48:49 GMT

clipped by: einbar
clipper's remarks: "The best sort of life, says Epicurus, is one that is free from pain in the body and from disturbance in the mind. That sounds a rather negative credo for a 21st-century devotee of the good life. Were he writing self-help books today, Epicurus would probably acknowledge that you can aim a little higher than that. He might point out in his own defence that health and peace are essential preconditions of happiness, and are easy to belittle if you are lucky enough to have them. But perhaps his most useful observation for the discerning hedonists of today, when such an intoxicating variety of gratifications are dangled before them, is a reminder of caveat emptor: "No pleasure is in itself evil, but the things which produce certain pleasures entail annoyances many times greater than the pleasures themselves."

Clip Source: www.moreintelligentlife.com

Why is pleasure so suspicious? None of the greatest western philosophers has produced a proper guide for today's enlightened hedonist, writes Anthony Gottlieb. But Epicurus, that much-maligned Greek, was on to something ...

Where is a hedonist to look for his heroes? Not to the religious traditions of the East, to be sure: they lack enthusiasm for the illusory pleasures of this world. The Buddha may have rejected the stony path of asceticism, but he was keener on eliminating desires than on satisfying them. Islam and Christianity are not much help either. They are more interested in pleasing God than in pleasing man. Judaism has managed a happier compromise with the ways of the world. Yet it too, like the other monotheisms, keeps a wary eye open for recriminations from above.

But there is one Greek philosopher whose name has become synonymous with the life of pleasure--especially sensual pleasures, and above all those of a gourmet.

Climate Change Controversies - a simple guide

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:40:18 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: royalsociety.org

The Royal Society has produced this overview of the current state of scientific understanding of climate change to help non-experts better understand some of the debates in this complex area of science.

the Society - as the UK's national academy of science - responds here to eight key arguments that are currently in circulation by setting out, in simple terms, where the weight of scientific evidence lies.

Misleading argument 1

’Climate change is nothing to do with humans’

Misleading argument 2

CO₂ not responsible for global warming

Misleading argument 3

’Rises in CO₂ occur after global warming, not before’

Misleading argument 4

Temperature observations don’t support global warming

Misleading argument 5

’Computer models are unreliable’

Misleading argument 6

’It is all to do with the sun, not CO₂’

Misleading argument 7

’It is all to do with cosmic rays’

Misleading argument 8

’The negative effects are overstated’

The science clearly points to the need for nations to take urgent steps

Tags: science, environment, climate, global warming

The Science of Happiness

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 22:27:08 GMT

clipped by: Kelika

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

IF RECENT scientific research on happiness -- and there has been quite a bit -- has proved anything, it's that happiness is not a goal. It's a process. Although our tendency to be happy or not is partly inborn, it's also partly within our control. And, perhaps more surprising, happiness brings success, not the other way around. Though many people think happiness is elusive, scientists have actually pinned it down and know how to get it.

Among the major findings of the last decade is that the pursuit of happiness is a worthy cause, Diener says. "Happiness doesn't just feel good. It's good for you and for society. Happy people are more successful, have better relationships, are healthier and live longer."

Great if you happen to be one of the people born happy, right? Not exactly. Another major finding is that about half of our tendency toward happiness is genetic, while the rest is controlled by the individual.

Tags: science

Survival of the Wittiest: sexual attractiveness of self-deprecating humour

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:24:49 GMT

clipped by: abailart
clipper's remarks: I'll give this a go but I'll probably be crap at it.

Clip Source: www.independent.ie

Forget the big car, the big heart, or even the big house. The quickest way to a woman's heart is the ability to poke fun at yourself.

The less serious he is, the more women seriously want him. A witty man can, apparently, have us laughing all the way to the bed.

"Many studies show that a sense of humour is sexually attractive, especially to women, but we've found that self-deprecating humour is the most attractive of all," said Greengross, whose Dissing Oneself: The Sexual Attractiveness of Self-Deprecating Humour, will be published later this month in Evolutionary Psychology.

"Self-deprecating humour can be an especially reliable indicator, not only of general intelligence and verbal creativity, but also of moral virtues such as humility," according to Mr Greengross.

My friend Julie is smitten by a guy she met in Waterstone's last month who told her: "I asked the assistant where the self-help section was, but she said telling me would defeat the purpose."

Tags: humour

Armenia: The Garni Gorge

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 08:35:09 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: Raw beauty?

Clip Source: www.odditycentral.com

The Garni Gorge

Much like the Giant’s Causeway, the Garny Gorge is made out of a high number of basalt columns. It’s an absolute must-see if you find yourself in Armenia.

It’s a wonderful canyon shaped by the ever-flowing river Goght river. Atop the basalt walls of the gorge the famous 1st century Garni temple can be seen.

Garni Gorge offers its visitors an incredible view and makes them feel like they’re in a fantasy place.

Tags: armenia, garni gorge, basalt, deposit, travel, tourism

prawn shocktail

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:44:38 GMT

clipped by: zadoz
clipper's remarks: a funny tail.... experts said the creature might be, .. might be ? great experts !

Clip Source: www.thescottishsun.co.uk

Prawn shocktail

Grisly discovery ... mystery creature with prawns

HORRIFIED May Morrison threw up in disgust as she tucked into a plate of prawns — after finding this mystery sea creature on the dish.

The 53-year-old gran bought three packets of her favourite seafood from Asda, only to have the treat ruined by the sight of the ugly severed head.

Last night May, below, of Edinburgh, told how she binned the prawns — before complaining to the supermarket’s branch at The Jewel.

But she was outraged when bosses offered her just £15 of vouchers in compensation. And she revealed she had already thrown out one packet because she spotted “something black” inside.

She said: “I was sick. When I felt better, I started on the the second pack and this head was sticking out. That’s when I started to vomit.”

Experts said the creature might be a sea snake or a fish from the Agonidae family. Asda said it should have been removed.

Tags: prawns, experts

Execution scheduled despite recanted testimony

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:40:10 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: [Send email at link if you want to express your support for review] Convicted of murder solely on basis of witness testimony - no physical evidence. All witnesses but two have since changed their position; one of the two is the prime alternate suspect. But Georgia will not allow factual review of case, and has set execution for the 23rd of this month.

Clip Source: www.amnestyusa.org

EXECUTION DATE SET: SEPTEMBER 23 AT 7 p.m.

The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles will hold a clemency hearing on Friday, September 12.

the Georgia Supreme Court decided 4-3 to deny a new trial for Troy Anthony Davis, despite significant concerns regarding his innocence

Georgia might soon execute a man who may well be innocent

Restrictions on Federal appeals have prevented Troy Anthony Davis from having a hearing in federal court on the reliability of the witness testimony used against him

The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony

Since then, all but two of the state's non-police witnesses

have recanted or contradicted their testimony

Many

have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements

One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles – the principle alternative suspect

against whom there is new evidence

Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.

Tags: troy davis, georgia, civil rights, race

Soldier Suicides Continue To Climb In 2008

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:39:53 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Could be a record year. Bonus - 12% of soldiers in Iraq take anti-depressants or sleeping pills. Not a great thing, to be sure.

Clip Source: wjz.com

Soldier suicides this year could surpass the record rate of last year, Army officials said Thursday, urging military leaders at all levels to redouble prevention efforts for a force strained by two wars.

As of the end of August, there were 62 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers and Guard and Reserve troops called to active duty, officials said. Another 31 deaths appear to be suicides but are still being investigated.

If all are confirmed, that means that the number for 2008 could eclipse the 115 of last year - and the rate per 100,000 could surpass that of the civilian population, Col. Eddie Stephens, deputy director of human resources policy, said at a Pentagon news conference.

"Army leaders are fully aware that repeated deployments have led to increased distress and anxiety for both soldiers and their families," Army Secretary Pete Geren said.

If the overall numbers continue

they would eclipse the 115 of 2007, 102 in 2006, 87 in 2005 and 67 in 2004.

They Words They Used - Convention Language Break-out

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 12:46:57 GMT

clipped by: BartendingBear
clipper's remarks: Highly interesting statistical breakdown of the words used during the convention, and the frequency with which they were used.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

The words that speakers used at the two political conventions show the themes that the parties have highlighted. Republican speakers have talked about reform and character far more frequently than the Democrats. And Republicans were more likely to talk about businesses and taxes, while Democrats were more likely to mention jobs or the economy.