Category: Technology

Google :Download the classics

Official Google Blog: Download the classics
Starting today, you can go to Google Book Search and download full copies of out-of-copyright books to read at your own pace. You’re free to choose from a diverse collection of public domain titles — from well-known classics to obscure gems.

Before the rise of the public library -– a story chronicled in this 1897 edition of The Free Library – access to large collections of books was the privilege of a wealthy minority. Now, with the help of our wonderful library partners, we’re able to offer you the ability to download and read PDF versions of out-of-copyright books from some of the world’s greatest collections.

‘God spot’ researchers see the light in MRI study

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | ‘God spot’ researchers see the light in MRI study
Brain scans of nuns have revealed intricate neural circuits that flicker into life when they feel the presence of God.

The images suggest that feelings of profound joy and union with a higher being that accompany religious experiences are the culmination of ramped-up electrical activity in parts of the brain. Continue reading “‘God spot’ researchers see the light in MRI study”

Palm Oil vs. Crude Oil

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
Supplies of diesel fuel from vegetable oils soared 80 percent in 2005, the agency said in July. That outpaced a 14 percent increase in production of ethanol, a fuel derived from corn and sugar that’s used as an alternative to gasoline.

Crude oil reached a record $78.40 a barrel last month and has driven up the cost of diesel and gasoline, making biofuels more competitive. Palm oil costs $507.50 a ton in Europe, less than about $680 for a ton of crude oil-derived diesel. Governments are subsidizing biodiesel to diversify energy supply and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.

Vegetable oil-based diesel is made through a chemical process where the glycerin is separated from the fat, or vegetable oil. The process leaves behind two products — methyl esters, the chemical name for biodiesel, and glycerin, a byproduct usually sold for manufacturing in soaps and antifreeze.

Palm oil comes from bunches of plum-sized fruit on the tree, which becomes productive from about 30 months after planting.

DIY Nuke Detector Patrols SF Bay

Wired News: DIY Nuke Detector Patrols SF Bay

With just $12,000 worth of gear, this inventor patrols San Fransisco in this Wired article, for a lot less than the scanners DHS is buying.

While Glaros’ homemade detector can be mounted practically anywhere, the team’s preferred platform is one or more of the pilot boats that meet container ships offshore. A pilot boat will typically meet a ship up to 12 miles out, giving the detector ample opportunity to gather data, and law enforcement a chance to respond.

For his part, Glaros has no doubt the United States will be attacked. “I’ve been in this business since SALT I. It’s gonna happen; it’s just a question of when…. I have a young daughter in San Francisco. That’s the main reason I got into this project.”

Rinspeed Splash

Rinspeed Splash
The Rinspeed “Splash” is the true incarnation of a really cool and fun sports toy. At the push of a button a cleverly thought-out hydraulic mechanism transforms the sports car into an amphibious vehicle.
A highly complex integrated hydrofoil system enables the “Splash” to ‘fly’ at an altitude of about 60 cm above the water. Continue reading “Rinspeed Splash”

New Medication Appears Effective In Helping Smokers Kick The Habit

ScienceDaily: New Medication Appears Effective In Helping Smokers Kick The Habit
“In this study, varenicline tartrate, 1 milligram twice daily, effectively helped subjects quit smoking, with response rates three times higher than those for placebo while demonstrating a good tolerability profile in this population of smokers who on average had smoked approximately 20 cigarettes per day for approximately 24 years,” the authors write. “Efficacy was maintained in the non–drug treatment phase through week 52. The significant reductions in craving and in some of the rewarding effects of smoking seen with varenicline tartrate, 1 milligram twice daily, may assist in promoting abstinence and preventing relapse,” they conclude.

‘Test-tube coral babies’ may mend reefs

‘Test-tube coral babies’ may mend reefs – Yahoo! News
Looking like an upside-down, underwater snowstorm, most corals in the Keys, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean release eggs and sperm into the water a few days after the full moon in August. In the wild, eggs and sperm randomly mix and fertilize to become larvae. Some take root to become foundation blocks for new coral.

Researchers led by Margaret Miller, an ecologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, gather spawn in cone-shaped, tent collectors anchored over portions of the coral reef off Key Largo. The spawn is blended in jars and the portion that fertilizes is transported to a field laboratory.

Would You Have Invested?

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Would You Have Invested?
In December 1978, Microsoft had just completed its first million-dollar sales year, and the decision was made to decamp from the company’s Albuquerque, New Mexico, headquarters and relocate to bigger and better digs in the Pacific Northwest state of Washington. The formal studio photograph displayed above was taken on 7 December 1978, shortly before that move, and captured all but a couple of the current Microsoft staff. While this picture has been around the Internet for awhile, snopes.com has the stories of what happened to those pictured. Just click on the link above this photo.

Satellite dishes help lift Cuba’s veil of secrecy

MiamiHerald.com | 08/05/2006 | Satellite dishes help lift Cuba’s veil of secrecy
2006_08_01t121905_450x332_us_cuba.jpg But in Cuba, TV satellite dishes are illegal without an almost impossible-to-obtain government permit. So people here build their own and often sell the signal to neighbors through homemade nets known as telarañas — spiders’ webs.

The small electronic components usually are smuggled in from the United States, and the dishes are built here. If the signals are encoded, relatives abroad can pay for the service as though it were for their own use, obtain the proper decoding procedures and pass them to Cuba. Continue reading “Satellite dishes help lift Cuba’s veil of secrecy”

Quick Guide to TV on the Net

The Jeff Pulver Blog: Jeff’s Quick Guide to TV on the Net (TV/IP) – July, 2006
During the past twelve months, as the momentum for Broadband TV has snowballed, an increasing number of media companies have decided to take their content and make it available for viewing on the Internet. In some cases, the content offered is “re-runs” of prime time content, in other cases the Internet is being used to channel “vintage” programming (re-runs of old programs) and there is an increasing number of cases in which new content is being developed by media companies for just the broadband Internet.