Clipmarks | kelvin273's clips

Five Science Fiction Movies That Get the Science Right

Fri, 09 May 2008 22:24:50 GMT

clipped by: nohobot
clipper's remarks: "2001: A Space Odyssey" is my all-time favorite film, so I included almost all of the information from that section. The others on the list are also interesting, though, of course.

Clip Source: www.newscientist.com

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

"Open the pod-bay doors, HAL."

Despite being made before the first moon landing, Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C Clarke's masterpiece is a strikingly realistic depiction of space travel.

Among the film's neater details:

All scenes in outer space are silent – sound does not travel in a vacuum

The stars do not move past the ship – for there to be a visible motion of the star field, the ship would have to be travelling at close to the speed of light

The crew eat paste-like food and only drink liquids through straws.

Additionally, crew members are shown coping with the boredom and routine of a long, straightforward trek across empty space.

Newtonian physics is strictly obeyed in the behaviour of the ship and little "pods" that the astronauts use to travel outside it. Trouble only starts when a carefully-aligned radio transmitter, the crew's lifeline to Earth, begins to drift out of position.

St. Patrick's Day causing Catholic dilemma

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:55:55 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

That famous saint named Patrick will have his green-drenched party this year, but it's unclear when the guests are supposed to arrive.

For the first time since 1940, St. Patrick's Day will fall during Holy Week, the sacred seven days preceding Easter.

Because of the overlap, liturgical rules dictate that no Mass in honor of the saint can be celebrated on Monday, March 17, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

But a few Roman Catholic leaders are asking for even more moderation in their dioceses: They want parades and other festivities kept out of Holy Week as well.

"The city has a very strong Irish Catholic community, a very traditional Irish Catholic community," Bell said. "They attend Mass regularly. And the last thing they want to do is get in the bad graces of the Catholic Church."

"It's not a sin to celebrate your Irish culture," countered Mark Dempsey, the club's president.

"Actually, you're born Irish first," he said, "and then you're baptized Catholic."

Tags: catholic, church, irish, easter, religion, belief, holiday, culture

Court Rejects ACLU Challenge To Wiretaps

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 02:44:23 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: ap.google.com

The Supreme Court rejected a challenge Tuesday to the Bush administration's domestic spying program.

The justices' decision, issued without comment, is the latest setback to legal efforts to force disclosure of details of the warrantless wiretapping that began after the Sept. 11 attacks.

The American Civil Liberties Union wanted the court to allow a lawsuit by the group and individuals over the wiretapping program. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit, saying the plaintiffs could not prove their communications had been monitored.

The government has refused to turn over information about the closely guarded program that could reveal who has been under surveillance.

ACLU legal director Steven R. Shapiro has said his group is in a "Catch-22" because the government says the identities of people whose communications have been intercepted is secret. But only people who know they have been wiretapped can sue over the program, Shapiro has said.

Tags: aclu, government, rights, wiretapping, lawsuit, communications, technology

6 (Not-So-Secret) Secret Societies

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 04:17:30 GMT

clipped by: alanocu
clipper's remarks: some familiar Bohemians in that photo

Clip Source: www.mentalfloss.com

1. The Freemasons

Freemasonry, or “The Craft” as its members call it, most likely has its roots in 17th-century stoneworkers’ guilds.

Mason lore, however, extends its origins back to biblical times, linking the society to the building of the Temple of Solomon.

2. The Illuminati

(“Enlightened Ones”),

A radical product of the Enlightenment and offshoot of the religion-based Freemasons, the Illuminati espoused secular freethinking and intellectualism and proved a threat to Europe’s old orde

3. Opus Dei

this ultraorthodox Catholic sect has definitely raised its share of eyebrows

4. Skull and Bones

Top dog among all the collegiate secret societies, Yale’s Skull and Bones dates to 1832 and goes by other spooky names like Chapter 322 and the Brotherhood of Death.

5. The Bohemian Club

Each encampment opens with a robed-and-hooded ceremony called the Cremation of Care

6. The Trilateral Commission

over 300 prominent citizens

discussing the regions’ common interests

This list was taken from Forbidden Knowledge

Tags: society

BW: Before Word

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:40:05 GMT

clipped by: mickfinn
clipper's remarks: Printing with movable type. One of the greatest inventions.

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

A case of cast metal type pieces and typeset matter in a composing stick

ffi

K-

en
qd

em
qd

3-em
spaces

;

quads

ffl

The California Job Case

In addition to placing the most commonly used letters in setting text in a given language in the easiest positions for the typeseter to get to, the characters' boxes varied in size depending upon the frequency of usage of the character. Thus for English the "e" box is the largest while the "j", "k", "q", "x", and "z" boxes are the smallest.

Prior to the adoption of the California Job Case, the capital letters were stored in a separate drawer or case that was located above the case that held the other letters; this is why capital letters are called "upper case" characters while the non-capitals are "lower case".

punch

5th century BC

woodblock

revolving table typecase

1313

1377

1490

metal type

Ten Tricks to Using Google You Probably Dont Know

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 18:58:40 GMT

clipped by: murieleileen

Clip Source: articles.mercola.com

10. Get Local Time: Type in What time is it followed by any city to get the current time.

9. Track Flight Status:

8. Convert Currency, Metrics, Bytes and More:

7. Search for Pages That are “Better Than,” “Similar to,” or “Reminds me of”: Enter “better than keyword” or “similar to keyword” to find Web pages you never knew existed.

6. Use Google as a Free Proxy: Enter cache:website.com to view a Web page that’s been blocked from the computer you’re using.

5. Remove Affiliate Links From Product Searches:

4. Find Related Items: Enter ~ before any search term to find related items as well.

3. Find Music and Comic Books:

2. See Images of People, Objects, Etc.: Type in a search term, and click on images to see photos of the results.

1. Search for Faces: If you’re looking for a photo of a person named Rose, and don’t want to see photos of the flower, add &imgtype=face to the end of your image search. It will show you only images of faces.

Tags: google, computer, tricks

Record Industry Goes After Personal Use

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:40:23 GMT

clipped by: Jo5329
clipper's remarks: So you pay for the CD and then load it into iTunes to put on your iPod and now that is illegal? Are these people so desperate for money they are now going after the end user who has already paid for it?

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

Despite more than 20,000 lawsuits filed against music fans in the years since they started finding free tunes online rather than buying CDs from record companies, the recording industry has utterly failed to halt the decline of the record album or the rise of digital music sharing.

In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry's lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are "unauthorized copies" of copyrighted recordings.

Tags: music, itunes

Free Books - Free Minds

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:26:05 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.wowio.com

Chance of Asteroid Hit on Mars Increases

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 07:32:19 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: "Some researchers are hoping for a cosmic smash"
Some? This is the kind of thing astronomers dream of
At the moment its known as 2007 WD5.
I'm sure if it hits it will get a better name.

Clip Source: www.mail.com

ALICIA CHANG

The chance of a football field-sized asteroid plowing into Mars next month has been increased to 4 percent, scientists said Friday after analyzing archival data.

Though still a long shot, some researchers are hoping for a cosmic smash

Clip Source: en.wikipedia.org

Clip Source: www.mail.com

"I think it'll be cool," said Don Yeomans, who heads the Near-Earth Object Program at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Usually when an asteroid is headed toward Earth, I'm not rooting for an impact."

The space rock, known as the nondescript 2007 WD5, was discovered in late November by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona. Based on the latest information available, scientists said

last week there was a 1-in-75 chance the asteroid could hit Mars on Jan. 30.

The odds were increased to 1-in-25 this week after a Ph.D. student pored through the archives and plotted the asteroid's motions before its official discovery. The new information allowed scientists to improve their calculations of the asteroid's orbit and flight path.

Tags: mars, asteroid, hit

Motivational Posters

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:51:18 GMT

clipped by: Fast T friend
clipper's remarks: Just because you are unique does not mean you are useful (got to read the fine print)

Clip Source: listverse.com

I recently received this email which contains some very funny motivational posters - with a twist. While I have seen a few of them, many were new so I thought it would make a nice relaxed list for the weekend. So, here are twelve posters to motivate you in life! As usual, click for a larger view.

Tags: humor, posters

Peanuts help in weight lost

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:25:25 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.earthtimes.org

Peanuts help in weight lost

Posted : Mon, 24 Dec 2007 18:47:16 GMT

HOUSTON, Dec. 24 Mexican-American children who skipped school meals, but substituted peanuts or peanut butter after school for other snacks, lost weight, a study found.

Principal investigator Dr. John Foreyt of Baylor College of Medicine and colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston found Mexican-American children ages 10 to 15 successfully lost weight and improved blood lipids in a school-based intensive intervention program.

All of the children at the school received a snack during the school period -- for some, traditional snacks, such as chips and snack cake, were replaced with peanuts/peanut butter with a fruit or vegetable.

Possible oral treatment for diabetics

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 02:06:54 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.earthtimes.org

Possible oral treatment for diabetics

Posted : Mon, 24 Dec 2007 21:32:44 GMT

HAIFA, Israel, Dec. 24 A substance derived from yeast is being tested in Israel as a potential oral treatment for diabetes and its complications.

The substance -- glucose tolerance factor, or GTF -- offers promise of inhibiting oxidation processes that can result in strokes and heart attacks. GTF given at early stage of diabetes may prevent or delay renal complications as well as cataracts and retinal damage.

Nepal agrees to abolish monarchy

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:32:52 GMT

clipped by: Deepti

Clip Source: www.gulfnews.com

The Nepalese government is abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy and will move toward a republic to persuade Maoist former rebels to rejoin the administration

However, the change will be implemented only after general elections next year and a new constituent assembly is established

Elections for the new 601-member assembly are due to be held in April

The agreement on Sunday with former Maoist rebels ends months of political deadlock that had stalled the peace process

The Maoists pulled out of the government in September, demanding an immediate end to the monarchy, led by King Gyanendra.

Tags: nepal, monarchy, king, maoist, government

7 Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:26:02 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Popular culture is loaded with myths and half-truths. Most are harmless. But when doctors start believing medical myths, perhaps it's time to worry.

In the British Medical Journal this week, researchers looked into several common misconceptions, from the belief that a person should drink eight glasses of water per day to the notion that reading in low light ruins your eyesight.

"We got fired up about this because we knew that physicians accepted these beliefs and were passing this information along to their patients," said Dr. Aaron Carroll, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Indiana University School of Medicine. "And these beliefs are frequently cited in the popular media."

Myth: We use only 10 percent of our brains.

Myth: You should drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

Myth: Fingernails and hair grow after death.

Myth: Shaved hair grows back faster, coarser and darker.

Myth: Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight.

Myth: Eating turkey makes you drowsy.

Tags: myths, common

Top 100 Undiscovered Web Sites

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:13:40 GMT

clipped by: philos

Clip Source: www.pcmag.com

AfterVote

Footnote

Hard to Find 800 Numbers

Ninjawords

Uncyclopedia

Wikisky.org

Wink

Cork'd

ExtraTasty

Lumosity

Menupages

Top Secret Recipes

Who Is Sick?

The World's Healthiest Foods

Dethroner

EXPN

FirstShowing.net

Going.com

I Can Has Cheezburger?

iminlikewithyou

I Watch Stuff

MeeVee

MyPunchbowl

Skeptic

BullPoo

Indeed

Kiva

Rentometer

Trulia

AllHipHop.com

Amie Street

Beethere.net

Imeem

Musicovery

SingShot

Slacker

Guerrilla News Network

MediaStorm

Tech President

Topix

Act-I-Vate

copyblogger

Goodreads

Ironic Sans

Librivox

The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs

Verbotomy

xkcd

The Bargainist

Do My Stuff

EuroCheapo

Roadside America

TheThingsIWant.com

Ugallery.com

Wikitravel

Yapta

afreeDLL

DaFont

DZone

Infected or Not

InviteShare

MajorGeeks.com

OldVersion.com

ProgrammableWeb

Website Grader

Armor Games

K2xl

Kongregate

LikeBetter

Line Rider

Shacknews

All Things Digital

Anything But iPod

Everything USB

GoodCleanTech

iLounge

Phone Scoop

TechMeme

AppScout

Download Squad

eHub

MakeUseOf.com

Mashable

Uncov

Dabble

PrezVid

ScienceHack

Ustream.tv

uLinkx

VideoJug

Bubbl.us

Eyejot

MediaFire

Tags: sites, web 2.0