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NotImpressed

The Environment

Asphalt Gets a Hot, Green Makeover

By Posted on 1.27.2009 9 Comments
Just back from the Transportation Research Board conference and meetings (http://www.trb.org/calendar/), Carolyn Whelan, a New York-based freelancer focused on alternative energy, climate change, trade, and travel, guest blogs for PopSci.com, focusing on new fossil-fuel emissions cutting technologies for infrastructure and transport which will (hopefully) play a prominent role in the Obama administration. As the globe went ga-ga for Obama on the eve of his inauguration, builders and pundits at the recent transportation conference in Washington were angling for a piece of the green stuff Obama’s pledged – and some eco street-cred, too.

1.28.2009 at 03:15pm - Comment by NotImpressed

One question, Why is the picture of a Concrete Truck when the article is about Asphalt.....Carolyn, do you know the difference? (besides color) Ooops thought of a 2nd question, What is the most Recycled building material in the US?.........That's right, Asphalt...nothing else even comes close... Warm mix sounds like a good idea, but I'd like to see it tested in a Cold climate. We have enuf pot holes in MN and a large amount of them are because the mix was not put down hot enuf....they're usually where there are seems and where they "Quit for the day"...
Science

Cheer Up!

By Rachel Durfee Posted on 1.27.2009 13 Comments
Overall, how would you say things are these days? Would you say that you are very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy? This is the question participants in the University of Chicago's General Social Survey have been answering since 1972. Recently, University of Pennsylvania economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers took this survey's data from 1972 through 2006 to see if people had gotten happier since the decade of bell bottoms and disco.

1.28.2009 at 02:53pm - Comment by NotImpressed

I'm extremely Happy........ that DarkFx is not in a position of Power to institute his/her Ideas. Some of it may sound nice on the surface, but its been tried before with terrible results and many, many, many people starving or dead. (And a few very powerful and rich in control).... What's a 9 letter word for Everyone being miserable... Communism
Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser

By Posted on 11.23.2008 Comments
Truck-mounted IED-destroying lasers have already been tested in Iraq, but firing lasers from an airplane is a more difficult proposition. The first successful test of a plane-mounted laser gun came on August 7, when Boeing’s 18-ton chemical laser fired a beam from a C-130H aircraft and destroyed a three-by-three-foot target on the ground. It was the first time all of the ATL’s lab-tested pieces came together to vaporize a target. Why use a beam instead of a bomb?

11.25.2008 at 02:18pm - Comment by NotImpressed

njdevil, How bout you go ask the guys on the wrong side in Irag and Afganistan and see what they say... then report back
Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser

By Posted on 11.23.2008 Comments
Truck-mounted IED-destroying lasers have already been tested in Iraq, but firing lasers from an airplane is a more difficult proposition. The first successful test of a plane-mounted laser gun came on August 7, when Boeing’s 18-ton chemical laser fired a beam from a C-130H aircraft and destroyed a three-by-three-foot target on the ground. It was the first time all of the ATL’s lab-tested pieces came together to vaporize a target. Why use a beam instead of a bomb?

11.25.2008 at 10:08am - Comment by NotImpressed

Hold on Taio, I'm on your side. My reference to the Dog trotting away was a kudo to the precision at which you guys work. Keep up the good work. Imongi, --- Are you saying that it's wrong to develop weapons to protect your country from bad guys, and yes Kill them. But it's OK to kill unborn babies? Too bad your mom didn't think that way at the right time....You are one sick puppy
Boeing Advanced Tactical Laser

By Posted on 11.23.2008 Comments
Truck-mounted IED-destroying lasers have already been tested in Iraq, but firing lasers from an airplane is a more difficult proposition. The first successful test of a plane-mounted laser gun came on August 7, when Boeing’s 18-ton chemical laser fired a beam from a C-130H aircraft and destroyed a three-by-three-foot target on the ground. It was the first time all of the ATL’s lab-tested pieces came together to vaporize a target. Why use a beam instead of a bomb?

11.24.2008 at 01:50pm - Comment by NotImpressed

Nearly instantaneous execution of the desired force, and I'd be willing to bet, from a great distance. Better Execution and Safer for our guys. Sounds like a Win - Win to me... The only downside is the internet videos of them taking out insurgents won't be as fun to watch....about a halfa second of bright white lite, then not much to look at but the surrounding area (and maybe a dog trotting away)..
Entertainment & Gaming

The Media Bug

By Posted on 4.2.2009 2 Comments
Some people may not think of artists as being scientifically minded or scientists as caring about the arts, but it's a surprisingly common crossover. Look at Richard Feynman- he won the Nobel Prize for physics and loved painting... and bongo drums. David X. Cohen, who has a BA in physics from Harvard and an MS in computer science from Berkeley, is most well known as the co-creator and executive producer of Futurama, a FOX tv show set 1000 years in the future. Enter Christina Hurtado, PopSci.com's new columnist.

11.12.2008 at 04:07pm - Comment by NotImpressed

Quote from the article: But who cares about facts when we have 24 hour news channels with nothing better to do than to repeat the same partially-true story for hours on end? Sadly proven (by the Alphabet networks) on Nov. 4th as well
Entertainment & Gaming

Knock Knock: Who's Funnier? Republicans or Democrats?

By Rachel Durfee Posted on 4.2.2009 15 Comments
If a man walks into a bar….who laughs? Liberals or conservatives? Dan Ariely, a psychologist at Duke University, and Elisabeth Malin, a student at Mount Holyoke College, looked into just that question in a recent Boston study. The two came up with a list of 22 jokes – conventional, quirky, corny, clever, etc. – and tracked the reactions of about 300 people who were asked to rate the jokes on a scale of 1 (not funny at all) to 9 (hilarious).

11.12.2008 at 03:50pm - Comment by NotImpressed

Unfortunately, Now the jokes on all of us...for four years anyway….
Science

Creating Diamonds from Tequila

By Jaya Jiwatram Posted on 11.11.2008 9 Comments
Tequila may be just another drink to those out in the town, but to a team of scientists in Mexico their country's native alcohol turned out to be a gem; a diamond, to be precise. Javier Morales, Luis Apátiga and Victor Castaño at the National Autonomous University of Mexico made the alchemist-worthy discovery while experimenting turning various organic solutions, such as acetone and ethanol, into diamonds. The scientists noted that 80-proof tequila (40 percent alcohol) had the ideal proportion of ethanol to water to create diamond films.

11.11.2008 at 02:21pm - Comment by NotImpressed

I just feel sorry for the Worm.. 1400 degrees, man that gotta hurt
The Environment

An Ecological Leap

By Jaya Jiwatram Posted on 10.2.2008 12 Comments
What makes an eco-friendly meal? It's a question that has caused many heated arguments. Some say vegetarian, or even vegan, meals are the best way to lead a green lifestyle, since the livestock industry causes a plethora of environmental problems, from massive-scale deforestation to air and water pollution. Others argue that the large-scale production of corn and soy (a popular substitute for meat products) are just as bad for the environment. In Australia, the debate has taken an interesting turn.

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10.14.2008 at 09:54am - Comment by NotImpressed

Dang, I came here lookiing for a good Kangaroo Stew recipe...
Science

This Week In Sex

By Julia Wallace Posted on 10.14.2008 7 Comments
It's been a hot week in the science of sex. First of all, for all of you Intactivists out there (and I know there are a lot of you round these parts), a major finding might bolster your claim that routine circumcision isn't worth the risk.

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10.14.2008 at 09:44am - Comment by NotImpressed

Kind of gives a new meaning to the old line: I'd give my left nut for a [fill in the blank]