Clipmarks | narain_47's Comments

Stonehenge yields one of its secrets

Thu, 29 May 2008 21:33:38 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

At least part of the mystery of Stonehenge may have now been solved: It was, from the beginning, a monument to the dead.

New radiocarbon dates from human cremation burials in and around brooding stones on Salisbury Plain in England indicate that the site was used as a cemetery from 3000 B.C. well into its zenith around 2500 B.C., British archaeologists reported Thursday.

Archaeologists at work at Stonehenge. The site was used for burials, apparently for members of a single family, for centuries. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/The Associated Press)

What appeared to be the head of a stone mace, a symbol of authority, was found with one of the burials, the archaeologists said, indicating that this was probably a cemetery for the ruling dynasty responsible for erecting Stonehenge.

"It's now clear that burials were a major component of Stonehenge in all its main stages," said Mike Parker Pearson, an archaeologist at the University of Sheffield in England.

Tags: archaeology

Bahraini king selects Jewish ambassador

Thu, 29 May 2008 21:42:27 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.jpost.com

Bahrain's king has appointed a Jewish woman as its envoy to Washington - the first Jew in the Arab world to become an ambassador.

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa named lawmaker Houda Nonoo, a 43-year-old mother of two boys, as an ambassador on Wednesday, the official Bahrain News Agency reported Thursday.

"It is a great honor to have been appointed as the first female ambassador to the United States of America and I am looking forward to meeting this new challenge," Nonoo told The Associated Press by telephone.

She said she was proud to serve her country "first of all as a Bahraini," adding she was not chosen for the post because of her religion.

Tags: bahrain

Energy drinks

Thu, 29 May 2008 21:03:07 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.chicagotribune.com

Energy drinks linked to risky behavior among teenagers

Health researchers have identified a surprising new predictor for risky behavior among teenagers and young adults: the energy drink.

Super-caffeinated energy drinks, with names like Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and Amp, have surged in popularity in the past decade. About a third of 12- to 24-year-olds say they regularly down energy drinks, which account for more than $3 billion in annual sales in the United States.

The trend has been the source of growing concern among health researchers and school officials. Around the country, the drinks have been linked with reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and emergency room visits.

New research suggests the drinks are associated with a health issue far more worrisome than the jittery effects of caffeine — risk taking.

Listen to Phoenix descend

Thu, 29 May 2008 19:47:47 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.esa.int

With data recorded on board Mars Express, you can hear Phoenix descend on to the surface of the Red Planet. After being processed by the Mars Express Flight Control Team, the sounds of Phoenix descending are audible, loud and clear.

Listen now

The data from the Mars Express Lander Communication system (MELACOM) that tracked Phoenix was received on Earth soon after the Phoenix landing.

Tags: mars, nasa, audio

Is This a Can of Sardines, Or a Motorized Rickshaw?

Thu, 29 May 2008 20:29:26 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Indian Officials (Try To) Put a Stop
To Risky Overcrowding of Three-Wheel Taxis

HYDERABAD, India -- Mohammed Usman used to cram as many people as possible into his motorized rickshaw -- up to eight adults, twice the legal limit.

But not anymore. "If I put more than one extra person, I know I'll get a ticket," he says. "The risk is too high."

Tiny, tinny three-wheel taxis, known as autorickshaws, are ubiquitous in South Asia. They are nimble, cheap and popular: A ride costs just pennies.

Clip Source: online.wsj.com

Tags: india, traffic, humans

EDIBLE GOLD

Tue, 27 May 2008 19:21:16 GMT

clipped by: tanyamm
clipper's remarks: Go to the sight this was clipped from and check out the other edible gold covered food. Looks good but the prices are guaranteed to give you indigestion.

Clip Source: www.trifter.com

Nine Unlikely Ways to Literally Munch, Taste and Consume Gold

So, what's for supper? Well if it's edible gold you are looking for, it usually comes in the form of ultra-thin flakes of 24-karat pure gold that is of course safe to eat.

Even though these gold flakes are tasteless, they are normally used as decorations that give an extra luxurious touch to culinary delights and dreamy beverages. Some people even believe that edible gold has a wide range of health benefits that offer the eater special powers to rejuvenate the human body and which contribute to longevity.

Come check out the latest in delicacies and be sure to enjoy your "golden" gastronomic experience.

1. The Grand Opulence Sundae

This is probably the world's most expensive ice cream and has a price tag of $1,000 per serving, especially available at the Serendipity Restaurant in New York. The premium ice cream sundae is beautifully garnished with a generous amount of 24-karat edible golden flakes.

Memories of Iraq haunted soldier until suicide

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:43:56 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar

Clip Source: www.mcclatchydc.com

WASHINGTON — Until the day he died, Sgt. Brian Rand believed he was being haunted by the ghost of the Iraqi man he killed.

The ghost choked Rand while he slept in his bunk, forcing him to wake up gasping for air and clawing at his throat.

He whispered that Rand was a vampire and looked on as the soldier stabbed another member of Fort Campbell's 96th Aviation Support Battalion in the neck with a fork in the mess hall.

Eventually, the ghost told Rand he needed to kill himself.

Then he placed the gun to his head and silenced his inner ghosts.

"My brother was afraid to ask for help," said April Somdahl. "And when he finally did ask for help the military let him down."

Fort Campbell's suicide record tracks with a national upsurge — 99 active-duty troops committed suicide in 2006, the highest rate in nearly three decades, according to the Pentagon.

Bogda Mountains, China

Sat, 24 May 2008 21:25:41 GMT

clipped by: skwirlinator

Clip Source: www.redorbit.com

Bogda Mountains, China

The Turpan Depression, nestled at the foot of China�s Bogda Mountains, is a strange mix of salt lakes and sand dunes. It is one of the few landscapes in the world that lies below sea level. This image was acquired by Landsat 7�s Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) sensor.

Tags: places, china, bogda mountains

Everyday Mysteries

Sat, 24 May 2008 20:04:25 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad

Clip Source: www.loc.gov

Find

Did you ever wonder why a camel has a hump? If you can really tell the weather by listening to the chirp of a cricket? Or why our joints make popping sounds? These questions deal with everyday phenomena that we often take for granted, but each can be explained scientifically.

Everyday Mysteries will help you get the answers to these and many other of life's most interesting questions through scientific inquiry. In addition, we will introduce you to the Library of Congress' rich collections in science and technology.

All of the questions presented on this Web site were asked by researchers and answered by librarians from the Library's Science Reference Services.

Out of a job and out of luck at 54

Wed, 21 May 2008 22:49:59 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: money.cnn.com

A growing number of older workers are losing their jobs as the economy weakens. And many are having a harder time landing new positions.

Too young to retire, too old to get a new job. That's how many older workers are feeling these days.

While it's not easy to land a job in this weak economy, older workers are in a particularly tough spot. Corporate downsizings are hitting this group hard, with many companies looking to shed the higher-paid positions these employees often occupy. Even worse, older job seekers are discovering the search is even rougher as many employers shy away from hiring those closer to retirement than to the start of their careers.

The downsizings come at a bad time for older workers. Not only can't they afford to retire, but many were counting on beefing up their 401(k) accounts in the years before they exit the labor force. Compounding the problem is the slumping stock market, which has left them with a deflated 401(k) cushion to draw on while looking for a new post.

Tags: retirement, economy, united states

Chinese mega vegetables

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:20:45 GMT

clipped by: boozich
clipper's remarks: look out for lots of gold medals at the olympics and the china athletes reply: "spent time in orbit"!

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

The seeds from which they grew were fired into space, where they orbited the Earth for two weeks.

Once they returned they were cultivated in hothouses, producing the monster specimens seen here.

Bumper crop: A scientist with a giant bitter melon

Breathtaking: Chillis have grown up to nine inches long

China has been experimenting with space plants since the 1980s.

Previously it has claimed that the near zero gravity conditions - microgravity - have created high-yield rice and wheat plants, and tomatoes and peppers with harvests ten to 20 per cent greater than normal.

The country is desperate to find new ways to feed its 1.3billion people, as farming land is gobbled up by factories.

The most recent batch of 2,000 seeds was launched into orbit in 2006 on the Shijian 8 satellite. Afterwards they were cultivated and the best specimens selected for further breeding.

he and his colleagues could not explain why time in orbit causes the seeds to mutate

Strange Things Afoot-Run For Your Life!

Tue, 13 May 2008 23:47:36 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: 3) Papers falling into the trashcan. Please refer your boss to appropriate experts in astronomy, mechanics, and theoretical physics. During this dangerous time, it is essential that all soul-deadened middle-managers understand it is simply not your fault your assignments won't stay on the desk.

4) Fat people falling off diets. Please refer to your body in that high-school bikini you can still "fit into."

5) Ice-cream falling off cones. This only happens when you are derelict in your ice-cream eating duties. Have you no shame?

6) Time falling off clocks. Despite the widespread transition to digital, this is expected to remain a significant problem in the coming months, as the minute and hour hands alike are pulled down swiftly toward the poles of 6 and 12 (6 + 6). Inconclusive data is leading some scientists to conjecture the end of the world is near, and to encourage their lab assistants to experiment further with observed phenomenon No. 1.

Katelyn Sack is The Wasteful Amer

Clip Source: www.null-hypothesis.co.uk

Strange Things Afoot

Warning! Physicists at Princeton's Institute for Advanced Studiousness have discovered a sudden increase in gravity concurrent with the nearer phase of the Earth's elliptical path around our Sun. They believe this heightened gravity explains a sharply increasing incidence of the following alarming phenomena, which if observed should be reported to your local law enforcement or physics department immediately:

1) Clothes falling to the floor.

1) Clothes falling to the floor. Shoes and trousers are often the first to go, but bras may display a disturbing propensity to fall out of shirtsleeves as the Earth speeds closer and closer to the Sun.

2) Cats falling to the pavement. All household animals may seem louder during this time of peak gravity, but cats in particular will beg to be thrown promptly out the window during the heat of this rare solar event.

Man Babies

Wed, 14 May 2008 18:15:24 GMT

clipped by: swampfoxz
clipper's remarks: yup,very wierd.

Clip Source: manbabies.com

Tags: man babies

The Analytic/Synthetic Distinction

Tue, 13 May 2008 23:15:41 GMT

clipped by: carrerinyes
clipper's remarks: Synthetic statements are not necessary. Philosophers use the word contingent to describe something that is not necessary. It is not necessarily true that you are reading this webpage: you could be reading a printout, for example.

It is important to make the analytic/synthetic distinction in argument. If you try to argue that something is true you need to be clear about whether you are saying something about the empirical world, or whether you are clarifying the meanings of words. It would do you no good for example to hunt for a bachelor who was married to try and refute the statement. It would be no help to you to try and find a "good murder" to refute the statement that all murder is bad, because murder is by definition bad.

Clip Source: www.philosopher.org.uk

The analytic/synthetic distinction

Some statements we judge to be true or false in relation to facts in the world, for example that you are now in reading this book. That you are reading this book is called by philosophers a synthetic truth.

Other statements we judge to be true due to the meanings of the words involved. We can know that the sentence "All bachelors are unmarried." is true without having to do a survey of bachelors, because the sentence is true by definition. It is an analytic truth.

Synthetic truths are "truths of fact" and analytic truths are "truths of reason". We use empirical methods to verify synthetic statements and rationalist methods to verify analytic statements.

Kant was the first to use the terms Synthetic and Analytic. He pointed out that all analytic truths are necessary, that is, they could not have been otherwise. If you agree that the definition of a bachelor is an unmarried man, then it stands to reason that all bachelors are unmarried.

next bank to report loss

Wed, 14 May 2008 16:37:43 GMT

clipped by: narain_47

Clip Source: www.iht.com

French bank BNP Paribas says first quarter net profit falls 21 percent, less than expected

The Associated Press

PARIS: French bank BNP Paribas SA said Wednesday its first-quarter net profit declined by 21 percent as the global credit crisis hurt profit at its corporate and investment bank.

Published: May 14, 2008

France's largest bank beat expectations to post a net profit for the quarter of €1.98 billion (US$3.06 billion), down from €2.51 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Tags: loss, banks, reports, recession