The legal store of stolen objects
The legal store of stolen objects.
Year: 2011
Companies Leaving California in Record Numbers
Will the last one out please turn off the light? Companies are leaving California in record numbers.
Cool images from Mars and Mercury
Here are two image releases of interest, one from Mars and one from Mercury.
First the Mars image. This close-up image of a pit, requested by a seventh grade Mars student team at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, California, shows more evidence of underground voids on Mars. The pit is located on the flank of one of Mars’ larger volcanoes, and suggests that there is a lava tube below it. At some point the roof over the tube at this point became unstable and collapsed, producing the surface pit.
A close-up image of the shadowed part of the pit with the exposure turned way up unfortunately shows that there is no skylight in the pit into the lava tube.
Next, the Mercury image, from Messenger.
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House panel tells Dept of Energy to cull underperforming research grants
A House panel has told the Department of Energy to get rid of underperforming research grants.
Though this article focuses on what it considers “whopping” cuts, I must point out that the total cuts to the DOE simply bring its budget back to its 2008 level, hardly a draconian cut.
How the recently dissolved California Space Authority wasted millions of dollars in federal earmarks and grants
How the recently dissolved California Space Authority wasted millions of dollars in federal earmarks and grants.
Sadly, this story is typical of many quasi-public/private authorities, most of which have nothing to do with the aerospace industry. There is a lot of one hand washing the other, using money the federal government nonchalantly gives away as if it is water.
Hadrian built his country estate with the buildings aligned with the sun
The Roman emperor Hadrian built his country estate with the buildings aligned with the sun.
For centuries, scholars have thought that the more than 30 buildings at Hadrian’s palatial country estate were oriented more or less randomly. But De Franceschini says that during the summer solstice, blades of light pierce two of the villa’s buildings.
In one, the Roccabruna, light from the summer solstice enters through a wedge-shaped slot above the door and illuminates a niche on the opposite side of the interior (see image). And in a temple of the Accademia building, De Franceschini has found that sunlight passes through a series of doors during both the winter and summer solstices.
The cost of rare earth metals has soared as China limits supplies
The cost of rare earth metals used in electronics has soared to record levels in the past two weeks as China clamps down on illegal mining and limits supplies.
Unmanned sail prototype prepares for launch
A prototype of an unmanned sailing ship will begin a test voyage this fall.
Although Harbor Wing will operate without a captain and crew by sailing on a pre-programmed course, “the man is always in the loop,” Ott said. An operator, seated at a computer that could be hundreds of miles away, can control the craft with keystrokes that relay commands via satellite. The transmission gap, from order to receipt, is only 18 seconds, which “on the open ocean is not much,” he said, “so you have very close control.”
Deep well inspection
An evening pause: Let’s take a strange journey, down 275 feet deep into a well. No sound, but fascinating nonetheless.
Daley can’t defend Obama’s ‘indefensible’ economic policies
White House chief of staff can’t defend Obama’s “indefensible” (his word) economic policies.
Research Center Under Fire for ‘Adjusted’ Sea-Level Data
A university research center is under attack for arbitrarily adjusting its sea-level data upward.
Some bats seem to be surviving white nose fungus
Good news: Some bats seem to be surviving despite being infected with white nose fungus [pdf].