Flightless prehistoric bird used its wing bones to clobber rivals
A flightless prehistoric bird, about the size of a chicken and found only in Jamaica, used the blunt and thick bones at the end of its wings as a weapon against its rivals.
Category: Points of Information
Very brief descriptions, with appropriate links, of current or recent news items.
The Playboy pin-up who went to the moon and back The Playboy pin-up who went to the moon and back the-playboy-pin-up-who-went-to-the-moon-and-back
A Playboy topless calendar pin-up that went into lunar orbit on Apollo 12 is up for sale.
Arianespace Needs Aid To Avoid Loss in 2010
Another government-operated business that is losing money: Arianespace is requesting financial aid from the member nations of the European Space Agency to avoid a loss in 2010. This despite the fact that “the current request comes at a time when Arianespace might be expected to be in prime financial health.”
Viking Found Organics on Mars, Experiment Confirms
New research confirms that the Viking landers did find organics on Mars back in the 1970s. Listen also to the September 15, 2010 and September 23, 2010 radio interviews that John Batchelor and I did with Viking project scientist Gilbert Levin and Christopher McKay of the Ames Research Center on this very subject.
Firefox takes top browser spot in Europe
This is the kind of change I like: Firefox has become the number one browser in Europe, beating out Internet Explorer.
Obamacare Ends Construction of Doctor-Owned Hospitals
Repeal the damn bill! Obamacare ends the construction of 45 doctor-owned hospitals.
A Clear Danger to Free Speech
A clear danger to free speech.
Note that though I agree entirely with this New York Times op-ed, it is almost humorous how this partisan liberal newspaper only notices these threats to freedom when Republicans are in power.
Engineers considering repairs to shuttle tank
NASA engineers are considering giving Discovery’s external tank the equivalent of a girdle in order to keep it from developing more cracks during launch. Key quote:
If that decision is made, it is unlikely NASA could complete the work, repair the tank’s foam insulation and get Discovery back out to the launch pad in time to support a launch attempt during the next available window, which opens Feb. 3 and closes Feb. 10. Work to beef up all 108 stringers at the top of the intertank almost certainly would delay Discovery’s launch on a space station resupply mission to the next available window, which opens Feb. 27 and closes in early March.
Ten year old Canadian girl youngest person to discover a supernova
Start ’em young! A ten year old Canadian girl has become the youngest person to discover a supernova.
Republican healthcare repeal bill available online
Progress! The Republican bill to repeal ObamaCare is now online [pdf]. It’s only two pages long, and is bluntly titled “Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act.”
Music group wants to play music in space
Groovy! The rock music group Muse wants to play music in space, and seems willing to buy the tickets to do it.
New edition of Mark Twain to remove racial slurs
I doubt Mark Twain would approve: The publisher of a new edition of Twain’s classics is going to rewrite the book to remove the racial slurs.
Sickening. Rather than face facts, our modern intellectual culture seems to want to run from them.
Denying the Jihad Against Christians
Why Most Published Research Findings are False
Why most published research findings are false. And written by a published but skeptical climate scientist. Key quote:
In global warming research, there is a popular misconception that oil industry-funded climate research actually exists, and has skewed the science. I can’t think of a single scientific study that has been funded by an oil or coal company.
But what DOES exist is a large organization that has a virtual monopoly on global warming research in the U.S., and that has a vested interest in [anthropogenic global warming] theory being true: the U.S. Government. The idea that government-funded climate research is unbiased is laughable. The push for ever increasing levels of government regulation and legislation, the desire of government managers to grow their programs, the dependence of congressional funding of a problem on the existence of a “problem” to begin with, and the U.N.’s desire to find reasons to move toward global governance, all lead to inherent bias in climate research.
Dead fish cover 20-miles of Arkansas River
One hundred thousand dead fish cover 20-miles of the Arkansas River in Arkansas and no one knows why.
US, Germany developing secret spy satellites
According to Wikileaks cables, the United States and Germany plan to develop a secret constellation of spy satellites. Though Germany denies the story, their denial is somewhat puzzling:
German Aerospace Center spokesman Andreas Schuetz said that such a project for a high-resolution optical satellite has been in discussion for the past two years under the name HIROS. “HIROS is neither a spy satellite, nor a secret project,” Schuetz said. He insisted that the project was to be used only for government purposes, “for example crisis management during natural catastrophes and for scientific uses.”
He refused to give any further details, saying the plan was still in the project stage and could not be discussed.
Discovery tank repairs ongoing
The repairs to the cracks on Discovery’s external tank continue, with the hope for a February 3 launch.
Can We Find Trees on Other Planets?
Can we find trees on other planets?
“Ninety Years Ago Today: The First Religious Broadcast Message”
Ninety years ago today: The first religious broadcast. It is interesting to note that at the time, not only did no one protest or was offended by such a broadcast, the technicians who set up the broadcast were not of the same religious denominations as the broadcasting church.
TSA scanners in use
Want to know what airports are using the new backscatter body scanners, and thus avoid them? TSA Status has the answer.