SEP 05
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If When disaster strikes.
“ No matter where you live in the United States,
you are vulnerable to some sort of natural disaster such as a blizzard,
earthquake, flood, hurricane, tornado or terrorist attacks. “ says
a recent press
release from Harvard
Medical School.
To this end, the HMS is providing a three page downloadable document, called, somewhat pessimistically perhaps, “ Preparing for Disaster “.
The doc gives an extensive list of recommendations about preparations one should make – so that if when disaster strikes, you’d be prepared.
For example, you’ll need :
• One gallon of bottled water per person per day.
• Cellphone.
• A financial inventory.
• Food ( canned goods and other nonperishable items that don’t require cooking )
• Masking tape and duct tape.
• Pet supplies ( including records of shots [injections] )
• And several dozen other essential items.
But how will you manage to carry all this ? The tip-sheet hints that “ Some people try to fit all of the supplies listed above in a large rolling trashcan with a lid or a large rolling cooler.”
For the full set of instructions download
the following document and ' save it to your hard drive ' ( we recommend
that you print it out too ).
* * *
If you are a UK resident, you might wish to check the official ' Preparing for emergencies ' website instead. Taking care to avoid this cheeky spoof !
30 SEP 05
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The physics of things somewhat reminiscent of sandcastles.
Enthusiasts
of ‘ Complexity Theory ’ will know that the stability of piles
of sand has been studied in some depth.
Keyword: Criticality.
The sandpiles, however, are normally constructed with dry sand – whereas everyone knows it’s best to build a sandcastle with wet sand.
But how much water to use ?
We still don’t know for sure, but some progress has been made by the Complex Matter and Nonlinear Physics Laboratory at Clark University, Massachusetts, ( in association with MIT.)
In a paper entitled " Maximum angle of stability of a wet granular pile " researchers used a friction-based Mohr-Coulomb model to explain that wet sandpile stability depends on grain size, system size ( i.e. size of the pile ) and surface tension ( of the added liquid ). *
Note from the title of the paper though - ' a wet granular pile ' - that the experiments didn’t actually use sand ; tiny spherical glass beads were used instead. And they didn’t use water as a wetting agent ; preferring silicone oil.
“ It would be of great interest to consider how well this analysis extends to piles composed of non-spherical and multi-sized grains as in natural sand. ”
Concludes the paper.
" Maximum angle of stability of a wet granular pile " will appear in a future issue of Nature Physics.
In the meantime, here’s a preprint :
also see ( from the same author ) “ Geometry
of crumpled paper ”
* We might add : Gravity, grain shape, grain shape variability, grain size variability, grain density, the possible presence of surfactant chemicals, the presence of adhesive chemicals, etc etc etc etc etc etc
Vaguely related article: The formula for a perfect beach holiday :
29 SEP 05
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Enhanced cubicity
The
rear cover of New Scientist ( 3rd Sep 2005 ) carried a full page
ad for the all-new Saab 93 SportsWagon.
It has an impressive load-carrying capacity – of " 1273 cubic litres ".
We’re not sure how big that is, but it sounds omfattande. or even perhaps jättelik.
28 SEP 05 (late)
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Italian Feline QoL.
“ It is still uncertain when the cat-human relationship
began “ – but it’s now reckoned that the domestication
of cats goes back at least 7000 years.
There are currently nearly 35 million in the EU alone, so their popularity is certainly not on the wane. Perhaps then, it’s time for some in-depth research into the of Quality of Life (QoL) for felines ?
The University of Padua has undertaken just such a study, published in the October issue of Applied Animal Behaviour Science.
62 cat-owner dyads were studied ( of whom 85% of the owners were women ). Using a simple physical assessment of the pet, and the Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) test questionnaire ( for the owners ), it was found that :
1.60% QoL - low
87.2% QoL - medium
11.2% QoL - high
Further “ The level of care given to the cat is greatly influenced by the gender, the education, the previous experience, the real ownership, the number of friends and of emotional bonds of the owner to people and by the gonadectomy “. . .
See: '
Owner and cat features influence the quality
of life of the cat. '
Also see: Understanding the human/cat relationship: human social support or attachment. from 1999.
28 SEP 05
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Analysing Jackson Pollocks.
A substantial article appeared in Physics World Oct. 1999, entitled “ Art Science and Chaos : The physics behind the paintings of Jackson Pollock”
It looked, in depth, at the concept of ‘ Fractal Expressionism ’ – which had only recently been ‘ discovered ’. It is perhaps unlikely that Pollock realised that he was a leading exponent of the genre, since he almost certainly had very little, if any, grounding in the field of fractal mathematics. He died in a high speed car crash in 1956, nineteen years before Benoit Mandelbrot’s groundbreaking book on fractals “ Les objets fractals, forn, hasard et dimension “ was published.
The research, however, is ongoing.
The next issue of ‘ Physical Review E ’ will carry a paper entitled “ On Multifractal Structure in Non-Representational Art “ which pushes the ideas still further. Researchers from Marymount University in California and the University of Toronto used ' Multifractal analysis techniques ' to analyse -
“ the physical patterns formed by a specific color (‘blobs’), as well as patterns formed by the luminance gradient between adjacent colors (‘edges’). “
It was shown that Pollock’s ‘drip paintings’ almost uniformly possess a fractal dimension around 1.7.
This extraordinary cross-disciplinary paper bravely delves into art theory, fractal maths, neuroscience, philosophy, and even hints at possible astrophysical implications . . . Do not miss.
You can see a preview
of the paper here : (caution: .pdf)
27 SEP 05
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Unhealthy news.
" We need to better regulate the online news services with the emergence of so many unhealthy news stories that will easily mislead the public." says China’s State Council Information Office.
As from this week, Chinese web-based services which provide ‘news’ items now need to register with the Ministry of Information Industry (MII).
Even sites which feed news to mobile phones must comply. The idea behind the new legislation is to filter out any ‘unhealthy news’, presumably, then, just leaving the government-approved items – which will of course be ‘ healthy ’.
Quite how the authorities hope to effectively plug the flow of electronic information – healthy or otherwise, is unclear.
The phrase ‘as easy as herding cats’ springs to mind.
* * *
Upright citizens who get a sniff of an unhealthy online story can, apparently,
visit http://net.china.cn and
report it.
26 SEP 05
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Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah *
“ Compulsive consumerism, contract employment, short-term networking, self-help manuals, trash TV: welcome to life in an increasingly privatized world. “ says the info panel for a new book, to be published by Routledge next month.
Written by sociologists Professor Anthony Elliott ( University of Kent, UK ) and Professor Charles Lemert ( Wesleyan University, USA ) “ The New Individualism : The Emotional Costs of Globalization “ examines the current pressure on individuals to ‘self-improve’ .
Think : “ emotional crisis, depression, confusion, breakdown, loss of personal identity “ etc etc
The book even goes so far as to ask “ Was the Free Individual Just A Dream ? “
Oh dear oh dear . . .
On the other hand, we wonder if the authors have seen this : from the UK's Guardian newspaper - issued on the same day as the book's press-release ?
* Things have evidently changed quite a bit at Wesleyan University since 1947, when alumnus Allie Wrubel wrote the lyrics for this happy tune . . .
( audio clip courtesy Songofthesouth.net )
24 SEP 05
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Women Better at Hand Hygiene Habits
To be specific, 90% ( of women observed in a recent study ) washed their hands after using a public restroom – compared to just 75% of men.
The research was conducted on behalf of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the Soap and Detergent Association (SDA).
The study turned up even more shocking figures – participants revealed that just 42% always washed their hands after petting a dog or cat ; after handling money it was 21%, and, most shockingly, after coughing or sneezing - just 32%.
for the full sticky details, see:
http://www.washup.org/
We’d like to remind readers too that there's still time to contribute to “ Clean Hands Week ” ( September 18–24, 2005 ). The event's organisers, The Clean Hands Coalition would like (their) readers to “ Send us a description & pictures of your handwashing activities. We may feature your event in the future on this website “.
see:
http://www.cleanhandscoalition.org/
23 SEP 05
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Hobbit story unwell ( again )
The BBC is flagging a ‘ Horizon ’ programme ( to be aired later today ) which will question whether ‘ Florrie ’ ( the now-famous Indonesian Hobbitess ) is really a ‘new species’ after all.
It won’t be the first time the ‘new species’ idea has been queried.
As Really Magazine has been asking since March, and will continue to ask until the question is answered somewhere :
“ What’s happened to the DNA analysis ? “
The results ( when they are finally published ) will obviously settle the argument one way or the other - on a permanent basis.
So, we ask again, why the delay ?
22 SEP 05 (late edition)
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A ‘ Festival of Inversion ’
Not in the Freudian sense we hasten to add, but from an anthropological point of view the upcoming Halloween festival is a chance for youngsters ( and adults ) to turn traditional values on their heads just for an evening.
But, new research from Penn State University is questioning whether Halloween is ‘ so much harmless fun ‘ – or not.
Cindy Dell Clark, associate professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State Delaware County, interviewed groups of six and seven year olds ( and their parents ) during the ‘celebrations’ of 1999, 2000, and also 2001 – just six weeks after 9/11. . .
" The
terrorist attacks made many adults re-evaluate scary Halloween customs, and
heightened mature angst over the holiday, already associated with urban legends
of child harm "
So, beware,
“ [the] findings raise critical questions about simplistic notions of socialization and cultural reduplication. “
The full paper, entitled “ Tricks of Festival: Children, Enculturation, and American Halloween “ is published in the penultimate issue of the anthropological journal Ethos .
* * *
For a personal in-depth view of the history of “ Oidhche na h-aimléise ” a.k.a. “ The night of mischief or con “ a.k.a. " Halloween " - the roots of which stretch back at least 2000 years, see:
22 SEP 05
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The Importance of Beans
For various reasons, the average length of hospital stays has been decreasing over the last few decades. Partly because of enhanced surgical techniques and improved medicines - but also because it’s now recognised that the stress of being away from home certainly doesn’t help towards a fast recovery. ( And nowadays, of course, a longer period in hospital means an increased risk of contracting MRSA. )
From the patient’s point of view then, hospitals aren’t particularly healthy places to stay – and it seems that they’re not for visitors and staff either.
A scalding report entitled “ Hospital Cafeteria Food Is a Recipe for Illness “ from the Washington-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has found that hospitals across the US are falling way short of their targets when it comes to providing healthy food for visitors and staff.
" With heart disease still the number one killer of Americans and obesity on the rise, it is imperative that hospitals set a good example by providing health-promoting, vegetarian foods to staff, patients, and visitors,"
To point things in the right direction, the PCRM has come up with an excellent list of recommendations for hospital canteen organisers - most of which could form the basis menu for a very healthy and interesting world-cuisine healthfood restaurant.
A hearty vegetarian soup every day keeps the doctor away.
21 SEP 05
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NR2B or not NR2B ?
We were going to tell you about “ Eternal sunshine of mice minds “ ( a study of chemically-induced memory suppression ) from Fudan University in Shanghai, where the ancient tradition of rodent grueling is still alive and well -
“ Researchers first put several mice into a box and played a certain piece of music. After a few minutes, they gave the mice an electric shock.
Untreated mice would begin to panic when they were placed back into the box an hour later and the same piece of music was played. “
But, thankfully, we forgot . . .
( by the way, if you want to check the original paper, bear in mind that when Fudan say the research is published in the latest issue of - " Neutron, one of the top academic journals in the world " - they mean Neuron . . . )
20 SEP 05 ( late )
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Brain-based leadership.
If you happen to be in Rochester, New York, on Thursday, at 7pm, ( 22nd Sep 2005 ) , why not drop into Borders bookstore and start the process of re-wiring your brain ?
Multiple Intelligences to Achievement ( MITA ™ ) will show you how to “ Accomplish things never before accomplished by using parts of your brain never before used ! “
For an overview of exactly how this might be, erm, accomplished, take a look at this article from The Hamilton Spectator.
The theory is underpinned by the realisation that “ Feeling stupid is a learned behaviour “* .
Over the last three decades or so, many research projects have demonstrated that the human brain can, in a sense, be exercised – and that mental exercise can physically ‘ wire-up ’ new neuronal circuits.
Thus, “ Grow-a-brain ! “ is no longer an insult – but an encouragement.
( Many thanks to the Improbable Research for the lead. You can read extensive correspondence regarding what ‘ Brain-based leadership ‘ actually means here . . . )
* Editor’s note :
It’s evident that ‘ feeling stupid ’ can be
a learned behaviour – on
the other hand . . .
20 SEP 05
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Small Animal Core just got smaller.
Oooops. Three mice have disappeared from the Public Health Research Institute’s
Small Animal Core (SAC) in Newark, New Jersey.
And ?
And they were infected with Yersinia pestis , a.k.a. Bubonic Plague.
According to news report from Nature.com , there are several possible explanations :
They may have been stolen.
They may have been ‘ accidentally incinerated ’.
They may have eaten each other.*
Or, they may have escaped from the lab.
Residents of Newark shouldn’t worry though "At this point we are satisfied that there is no public-safety risk, but the investigation is ongoing," said an FBI spokesperson.
See: http://www.nature.com/news
* Editor's Note : Unlikely – wouldn’t there be one left ?
19 SEP 05 ( late edition )
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Avast !
Today is, of course, “ International
Talk Like a Pirate Day ” .
Here’s our contribution :
And a cartoon.
19 SEP 05
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Good news for ‘ The South ’.
Winter, for most people at least, is not generally thought-of as the happiest time of the year.
Looking on the bright side though, if you happen to live in the southern hemisphere, spring is now on the way – and you stand a good chance of cheering up.
In fact, a study from the Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavioral Genetics, published in this month’s issue of Psychological Science, has quantified it.
A group of 97 participants ( residents of Ann Arbor , Michigan ) were randomly assigned instructions to either to stay indoors – or to go out. Their ‘mood’ was then evaluated using the ‘ PANAS ’ mood-scale, and correlated with weather records.
Sure enough, “ moods improved for participants who were randomly assigned to be outside on warm, high-pressure (clear) days, whereas moods declined for those randomly assigned to be inside on such days.”
It seems then, that the springtime change towards more clement weather could well be considered a ‘ Zeitgeber ‘ . . .
It is for us anyway.
‘ A Warm Heart and a Clear Head: The Contingent Effects of Weather on Mood and Cognition. ‘
16 SEP 05
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'Somewhat foggy' = 4 ( on the SSS )
If you were a student attending ' Clinical research design and statistical analysis ' classes, would you occasionally have trouble staying fully alert ?
Perhaps so, but luckily, a new study from the University of Michigan has shown that there may be simple risk-free way of staving-off doziness.
“ Students were taught how to self-apply acupressure regimens on either five stimulatory points or five relaxation points. The regimens consisted of light tapping with the fingers, and massaging with thumbs or forefingers. “
The acupressure ( self administered ) was found to provide a full 0.56 point improvement on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS).
If you want to know the answer to the obvious crucial question “ Exactly where are those points ? “ you’ll just have to become a subscriber to the latest issue of Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.
15 SEP 05 ( late edition )
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Higher Risks
Do you think of yourself as a chancer ? If so, you might risk a few minutes of your time looking at a new discussion paper from the Institute for the Study of Labor at Bonn University – which quantified ‘individual risk attitudes.’
With an impressively large sample-size of 22,000 individuals, researchers evaluated subjects in a ‘lottery’ where they were tested regarding their the willingness to 'risk' a ’hypothetical asset’ of €100.000.
Really Magazine would like to point out ( as we always do ) that there is a world of difference between a hypothetical asset ( where there is zero real-world loss if things go badly ) and a real asset. Can such a technique really be trusted to give reliable answers ?
Wouldn’t it have been more straightforward simply to ask the subjects if they were prone to taking risks or not ?
The research team had already thought of that, for that's exactly what was done in the second part of the study.
The participants were asked :
“Are you generally a person who is fully prepared to take risks or do you try to avoid taking risks ? “
and sure enough, this second method of evaluating the subjects proved the most reliable . . .
So, the final results ?
They pinpointed some surprising ( and not so surprising ) factors. If you are prone to a bit of speculation yourself, you may have already guessed that men turned out to be more likely to take risks than women - and, the older the individual, the more risk-averse they were.
There was one exceptionally non-intuitive result though. Risk taking was also closely linked to height . . . Taller people took more chances.
To be specific : “ each centimeter of height leads to about 200 Euros higher investment in the risky asset. “ *
Why ? Really Magazine cannot even begin to offer a tentative guess as to why this might be – and, unless we’ve missed it in the paper, neither do the researchers.
It's very much up for discussion.
For the full paper (.pdf) , click
here ;
* Editor’s note :
Do casinos / racecourse bookies / The Stock Exchange know about this ?
15 SEP 05
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“ Lifelike funny behavior – they leave on your computer:”
IBC 2005 has seen the launch of ‘ Talking Headz ™ ‘ in a joint effort by the Norwegian firm Vizrt and Israeli company Gizmoz.
The animated 3-D rendered characters leave live on your computer ( or über-mobile ? ) and, using a proprietary ‘ phoneme recognition engine ‘ provide –
“ An extremely humoristic innovative messaging product that allows all Yahoo!, ICQ, AOL AIM, MSN and Skype Instant Messenger users to communicate by fun amusing believable 3D personal Talking Headz which are animated by text to speech, voice over IP and emotion “
Examplz and Downloadz here :
14 SEP 05
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Controller of TV
“ You’ll be able to edit out the boring bits “ says the press release from ACID ( Australasian CRC for Interaction Design ).
They
are developing a TV ‘mouse’ ( a clip-on device which measures
hand movement via accelerometers. ) The device’s inventor, Professor Duane
Varan “ believes the gesture recognition
device will accommodate natural gestures by the user without risking RSI
or strain injury. “ ( which will no doubt come as a relief to
TV viewers who use their remote so much they’ve developed RSI )
One idea . . . why not implement Bi-directional Audio Command Interactivity (BACI) too ? ( also known as 'shouting at the box' ).
The research comes via the Interactive Television Research Institute - part of Murdoch University ( no, not that Murdoch, it was Sir Walter (1874-1970) . . . )
* * *
P.S. Wonder if the Prof's seen this tech device - which also does a superb job at " editing out the boring bits " . . .
13 SEP 05
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Readers might enjoy trying to square
With This .
. .
Computes ? or Does Not Compute ?
Really Magazine has no idea, but maybe these guys could figure it out . . .
Starting
today, more than 1000 companies will be trying to market their products -
forged at the bleeding-edge of science / tech - to responsible democracies
( and others ) worldwide :
For a 30 page in-depth look at exactly what’s going on in London’s not-so-squeaky-clean Docklands, goto
Update :
For another dose of enigma, here's what The Lancet ( " [ which is ] an entirely independent publication, editorially and financially. It is not subsidised by profits from any other part of Reed Elsevier.. " ) thinks about it . . . ( cluster bombs and all ) . . .
13 SEP 05
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Ultra
The Georgia
Tech Research Institute is - “ distinguished
by its commitment to improving the human condition through advanced science
and technology “ – and what better way to do that than
design a new military vehicle – the ULTRA
AP – to be unveiled at the “ Modern Day Marine
Expo “ tomorrow at Quantico, Virginia.
The institute “ can help the military develop true 'leap-ahead' concepts " . . . ( in the interests of improving the human condition of course )
Looks like all those celeb Hummer owners might
need to upgrade soon ?
( Tip for the design team : maybe lose the coffin-shaped radiator grille ? )
12 SEP 05 (late edition)
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A little bit of radioactivity is good for you ?
Many of the off-the-shelf mineral waters found in your local supermarket contain “ significant quantities of natural radionuclides “, for example - radon.
“ Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which originates from the decay of uranium in rocks and soils “
Which, if you live in a country where the natural groundwater is radioactive, may even be present in the tap-water in your kitchen.
If you are not one of those who believes in the health giving benefits of a little radioactivity, then what can you do about it ?
According to the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland ( RPII ), you could try boiling it , but . . .
“ Boiling effectively removes almost all of the radon dissolved in the water. However, the radon released during boiling will enter the air of the house and the occupants will then be exposed to the risk of inhaling radon gas. “
* * *
P.S. If you’d like your water tested, the RPII will send you a kit for €60.
Note* the RPII estimates that, on average,
the risk of contracting radon-induced fatal lung cancer in Ireland is roughly
one in fifty per lifetime. Twice the risk of dying in a traffic accident.
12 SEP 05
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Suburbs : Obesogenic ? Discuss.
A new study from Oregon State University has tried to establish a possible relationship between “ obesity and the characteristics of metropolitan counties where individuals reside.”
Previous studies of obesity “ have treated urban form as exogenous to weight status. “ – in other words haven’t taken suburban living into account.
The results showed that people with a high Body Mass Index (BMI) would be more likely to live in sprawling suburbs than in city centres.
But why ? Does urban sprawl cause bodily sprawl ? Or do obese people tend to prefer living in the suburbs - and self-sort themselves accordingly ?
The research suggests that the latter is more probable. In fact, the propensity towards obesity which the study uncovered “ is due largely to sorting rather than to impacts of the urban environment on physical activity and weight.”
On the other hand, however, “ living in a less sprawling county reduces BMI. “
So what’s the final verdict ? We’re not sure : here’s the paper - " The association between urban sprawl and obesity: is it a two-way street ? “
Perhaps you can work it out : or, as they might say in Oregon " Go Figure ".
10 SEP 05
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Blue Roses.
Many thanks to TokyoTimes who today point us in the direction of a “ Blue Rose ” soon to be commercially launched by Suntory Ltd in Japan.
The GM rose was ‘developed’ by Suntory’s biotech division ( www.florigene.com.au ) and is the result of more than 15 years of R&D work – which centred on implanting a blue-inducing ‘ Delphinidin ’ gene from a pansy.
Really Magazine would like to point out though, that the press release photo of the blue bloom shows a flower which appears to be more, shall we say, ' lilac ' ?
In fact, our unscientific ‘back of the envelope’ colour analysis of the picture reveals that the hue has an RGB value of roughly 112, 104, 177 ( i.e. 29% Red, 26% Green, 45% Blue ) - clearly some way away from what might usually be thought of as ‘Blue’
The company is still continuing it’s R&D though - “ The Suntory group will continue our research and development to make blue roses ‘ bluer ‘ “
* * *
p.s. the Suntory group evidently has a penchant for blue things – they also market this :
09 SEP 05 (late)
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' Don’t Dumb Me Down.'
Dr. Ben Goldacre explains how it all works in his ‘ Bad Science ’ column in today’s Guardian . . . couldn’t have put it better ourselves . . . don’t miss . . .
09 SEP 05 (late)
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More on Intelligent Design.
“ Are there scientists alive today who accept the biblical account of creation ? “ asks Answersingenesis.org . . .
And, ( according to them ) . . . yes, there are.
There’s a list of nearly two hundred post-doc scientists who endorse the ‘ Intelligent Design (ID) ’ ideas - more than thirty of whom are university professors.
The site also links to enlightening publications from the scientists – such as ' Vestigial Organs are Fully Functional ' by Dr Jerry Bergman, which describes how some human physical attributes ( such as the appendix, wisdom teeth, and male nipples ), previously considered useless, are in fact vital for our survival.
Also see ' A biblically-based cratering theory ' ( from Dr. Danny Faulkner , Professor of Astronomy / Physics, at the University of South Carolina US ) – which explains how the Moon’s craters were actually formed during ‘ Creation Week ’ , ( rather than over billions of years as was previously supposed ).
Or why not take a look at ' Flying
high ' an interview with Professor
Andy McIntosh , Professor of Thermodynamics and Combustion Theory
at Leeds University UK.
Q.“ So you believe in a world created about 6,000 years ago, cursed on account of sin, then devastated by Noah’s Flood ? “
A.“ Absolutely. There’s nothing in real science ( if you take all the assumptions into account ) to contradict that view. “
09 SEP 05
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Bright side of the Sun.
A gigantic solar flare yesterday went to ‘ level X17 ’ – in other words ‘off the scale’ as far as the satellite detectors go.
Emanating from sunspot 798, it temporarily caused a ‘complete blackout’ of high-frequency radio communications. Luckily, the flare was predominantly facing away from Earth.
You can see a ( somewhat alarming ) stop-frame animation of the flare here :
08 SEP 05 (late)
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More Progress dumping ?
Yet another ‘ Progress ’ spacecraft has been dumped into deorbited over the Atlantic.
The Progress spacecrafts, launched from Baikonur, LC 1 in Kazakhstan, are being used to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with fuel / water / tech equip / personal items – but they are also used to get rid of waste . . . “ Progress M-53 ” was junked yesterday along with its mystery contents.
At least, the contents are a mystery to Really Magazine. ( Any interested readers who trawl the internet and find out exactly what it was carrying please get in touch.)
All we know is that about a ton of waste ( wet and dry) and spent equipment was supposed to burn up on re-entry – and that any unburnt fragments were scattered into the " Spacecraft Cemetery " located on the 40th parallel in the Pacific Ocean, near Easter Island.
We can only, perhaps, get some clue to the nature of this space-junk by viewing what the previous Progress craft ( M-52 ) was carrying when it arrived at the ISS . . .
According to Spaceref.com, it was loaded with “ about 2.4 tones (sic.) of various cargoes, including propellant, oxygen, air, potable water, foodstuff, equipment and facilities for the station onboard systems, medical equipment, underwear, personal hygiene items and individual protection gear, flight-data files, video and photo materials, parcels for the crew, and structural elements “.
How much of that has now ended up in the Pacific ?
The International Space Station flags itself as “ the largest and most complex international scientific project in history “ – Yes, and yet it still dumps its waste into the sea. How progressive is that ?
To make matters worse, there is the added risk that ISS may also be contributing to the rapidly deteriorating “ Space Junk “ problem.
‘Guidelines’ for the limitation of re-entry ‘debris’ were drawn up over ten years ago, and the International Space Station surely has a responsibility not to make matters worse. So how does the ongoing Progress dumping scheme fit into that remit ?
We have no idea.
* * *
Here’s a complete timeline of M-53’s lifespan . . .
http://space.kursknet.ru
08 SEP 05
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Far from mediocre.
If you are a boss, you are now officially allowed to shout at your workers. Providing you are Brazilian that is.
A court in Sao Paulo ( 2a Turma do Tribunal Regional do Trabalho da 2a Região ) has this week come to a verdict in the case brought by a bookshop worker against his employer – whose manager was prone to shouty-fits.
Brazilian employment law is in many ways considerably more ‘advanced’ than in Europe – with extensive protection mechanisms in place for preventing mistreatment of workers . . . ( in theory at least ).
It still remains illegal to humiliate or insult an employee – or even to call them, for example, ‘mediocre’ - but a boss's’ tone of voice is now officially ( and legally ) considered as irrelevant.
The court has ruled, in effect, that ‘content’ is more important than ‘delivery’, and it’s now assumed that no psychological damage will be perpetrated just because of the bosses’ raw decibel level.
GOT IT ?
( Inspiring material for a dept. of psychology research project ? )
Adapted from source: O Globo, 4th Sep.
07 SEP 05
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Vehicular Vibrotactiles - time for a re-think ?
We have searched in vain for the “ Citroen model
which vibrates the trousers of drivers to warn them when they cross a lane
too slowly “ as mentioned in today’s Telegraph newspaper.
Nevertheless it’s a fair bet that a raft of sensory input devices – for alerting car drivers to potentially dangerous situations – will soon be rolling off the production lines.
Proposals include ‘talking windscreens ‘ , ‘alerting odours ‘ and ‘ auditory earcons ’.
‘ Head-up displays* ' are, of course, already in use in some models. But, as pundits have already started pointing out, there must surely come a cut-off point where the new ‘alerting’ devices become – themselves – a dangerous source of distraction.
Is it not possible too, that a plethora of computer-assisted sensors and feedback devices may tend to ‘ disconnect ’ the driver from the real-world situation playing out in front of the vehicle ?
Really Magazine suggests instead that perhaps researchers could focus on directly re-connecting the driver - with reality.
For example, we could do away with windscreens altogether – so that the driver gets a true sense of speed instead of relying on instruments.
Suspension could be very substantially hardened-up so that drivers would be forced to slow down on uneven roads.
Engine noise could be made say, 40dB louder inside the vehicle so that it would become impossible to hold a mobile phone conversation . Etc. Etc.
In other words, back to the early 1900’s.
( * Note :The displays were originally developed for fighter aircraft so that the pilot didn’t have to look down at his/her instruments – and so momentarily take their eye off the target )
06 SEP 05
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Am I thirsty yet sarge ?
As scientific studies go, the latest from USARIEM ( U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine ) wouldn’t score all that highly on sample size. The ‘ how much water to drink ’ tests involved just six men and two women.
The ‘subjects’ ( needless to say, army recruits ) were exposed to 45°C for three hours, and then 2°C with ‘minimal clothing’ for one hour – they then performed cycling exercises for half an hour.
“ Rectal * (Tre) and mean skin temperatures (Tsk), heart rate (HR), and Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) measurements were made at regular intervals. “
( * editors note : is that really a good idea whilst cycling ? )
So,
how much water should one drink ? The Adequate Intake (AI) for water is currently
listed at 3.7 liters/day ( that includes water in food ) .
But the new research also suggests that -
" Weighing oneself nude before and after exercise is the best way to gauge success around this recommendation "
It’s clearly quite a mystery that we have managed to survive two or three million years on this planet without such knowledge.
see :
05 SEP 05
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Get a robo-life helper.
The ‘ Robotic
Life Group ’ at MIT -
“ - develop robots that engage us as helpful partners that will ultimately play an valuable, rewarding, and unprecedented role in the everyday lives or ordinary people. “
One of their latest creations is a hot-wired version of Aibo ( Sony’s famous robo-pooch ).
The new canine assistant will be used to ‘ encourage people to stick to their diets ‘ .
The doggie-bot is expected to be battle-tested with a group of overweight people from Boston next year . . .
Really Magazine suggests that perhaps the MIT team could work on enhancing the working temperature range of Aibo ( currently 5°C to 35°C ) - so that it could permanently live in the freezer and savagely yap at its owners when they go to grab a burger / pop / ice cream / beer ?
Just a thought.
( for the full story, visit New Scientist Magazine )
03 SEP 05
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BBS
First, some details.
a.k.a Bashful Bladder Syndrome - a.k.a Avoidant Paruresis .
Estimates as to the percentage of the population affected by the syndrome vary widely. The original study, which gave a name to the disorder in 1954, found that an astonishing 14% of college students were sufferers.
But new research from the Department of Clinical Psychology, University
of Düsseldorf - which looked at over 1000 men ( aged 14 > 92
) - puts the figure closer to 3%.
Researchers began by asking :
" Do you have a marked and persistent fear using public restrooms while others are present ? "
BBS, which appears to be widely under-diagnosed, is currently classified as an ‘anxiety disorder’ in DSM-IV – the diagnostic ‘bible’ of Mental Health professionals.
The researchers point out though, that perhaps it may be better re-classified as a “ specific phobia, or psychophysiological or psychosomatic disorder in the narrower sense “
Results are published in this month’s ‘ Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics ‘ ,
or you can see a .pdf here .
* * *
Notes: Current remedies for the syndrome include medication, psychological therapy, or ’self-catheterisation‘.
For general info see : http://www.netdoctor.co.uk
Editor’s note: The original study, and this new research, were both carried out in ‘ Western ’ societies – perhaps a global study would find the percentages suffering from the syndrome varying even more widely if other cultures were included ?
02 SEP 05
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Books worth a look.
Undermining deep-seated prejudices is hard work. Three non-fiction works which try to do just that have recently landed in the Really Magazine cyber-intray :
First
up “The Whole Hog - Exploring the Extraordinary
Potential of Pigs. ” by Lyall Watson.
“ Pigs enrich my life in surprising ways. I know of no other animals that are more consistently curious, more willing to explore new experiences, more ready to meet the world with open mouthed enthusiasm. “
Second
up“American Cockroach “ by Catherine Chalmers.
“ Catherine Chalmers’s second Aperture monograph invites us to meditate on the pleasures and terrors of the common domestic pest, Periplaneta americana “
Note : Not to be confused with “ The American Cockroach “ Edited by William J. Bell and K.A. Adiyodi .
Third
up : “ Rats: A Year with New York's Most
Unwanted Inhabitants “ by Robert Sullivan.
“ Sullivan spends the year in a garbage-strewn
alley in lower Manhattan - with a notebook and night-vision goggles, hunting
for fabled rat-kings, trapping a rat of his own, and trying (and failing)
to conquer his own fear of rats. “
01 SEP 05
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