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qazzzz

Cars

The Race to 1,000 MPH

By Mike Spinelli Posted on 9.24.2009 26 Comments
The sun doesn’t rise over the Black Rock Desert in Nevada; it ignites. One minute the blaze-orange glow of dawn is cascading down the sulfur-rich Jackson and Kamma mountain ranges, tinting the prehistoric lakebed a million shades of pink. The next, it’s full celestial throttle. By 6:30, the sun is blinding and the heat is ratcheting up.

9.22.2009 at 12:53am - Comment by qazzzz

@jomab Yes, Campbell was a pioneer on land and water. He doesn't hold the wheel-driven record though. It was broken shortly after his mark by 'Goldenrod', which also happened to have an internal combustion engine (subsequently beaten also). The magic about the absolute LSR is how crazy everything gets as you go faster; the difficulties are not linear. People have survived incredible high-speed crashes during record attempts. I fear we are now at a level that even with modern materials etc, a crash is 100% definitely fatal. However I agree the wheel-driven record has a prestige of it's own that is underrated.
Cars

The Race to 1,000 MPH

By Mike Spinelli Posted on 9.24.2009 26 Comments
The sun doesn’t rise over the Black Rock Desert in Nevada; it ignites. One minute the blaze-orange glow of dawn is cascading down the sulfur-rich Jackson and Kamma mountain ranges, tinting the prehistoric lakebed a million shades of pink. The next, it’s full celestial throttle. By 6:30, the sun is blinding and the heat is ratcheting up.

9.21.2009 at 12:06am - Comment by qazzzz

It's not just a 2 horse race. http://www.aussieinvader.com/
The Environment

In Epic Cricket Rivalry, Global Warming Could Help Ozzies Beat the English

By Susannah F. Locke Posted on 8.14.2009 4 Comments
Polar bears starving, corals dying, ice shelves melting--climate change is wrecking the world around us. But there’s an upside if you’re a fan of the Australian cricket team. Global warming may increase your odds of beating arch rival England.

8.17.2009 at 12:04am - Comment by qazzzz

Statistics, a little something for everyone :) Of the last 10 completed series, stretching back 20 years, Australia have won 9. 4/9 came on English soil. Of all the many variables, I think La Nina & El Nino patterns are meaningless.
Science

Cheaper, Smaller Nuclear Reactors Seek Customers in Developing World

By Posted on 6.11.2009 8 Comments
While global warming may present a serious problem for most humans, it has been a great boon to the nuclear power industry. Looking to capitalize on the political and public will behind power plants that don't emit greenhouse gases, nuclear engineering company Babcock and Willcox has rolled out a new power plant almost ten times smaller than many of the reactors currently online.

6.17.2009 at 01:45am - Comment by qazzzz

The french 'new generation' was supposed to be cheaper too. Hasn't worked out that way. (They of course are full size). One use for these units? One or two collectively owned up in the Alberta oil sands. Massive power needs. A stable 24hr long term non-emission source would 'green' up the process if not the end product.
Science

Don't Blame the Baby for Your Belly

By Rachel Durfee Posted on 4.1.2009 2 Comments
The stereotype of pregnant women experiencing bizarre cravings has long had people believing that all expectant mothers go a little crazy when it comes to food and drink over the course of nine months. Though the image of a petite woman screaming at her husband at 2:00 in the morning, "I WANT BROCCOLI AND STRAWBERRY SYRUP!" may lead us to imagine that all pregnant women gain extra, non-baby weight, a recent study shows that those who are more likely to over-gain weight during pregnancy are overweight or obese mothers-to-be who underestimate their weight at the beginning of term.

12.26.2008 at 11:49pm - Comment by qazzzz

Try telling that to a pregnant fat chick ;) ;) ;)
Cars

Return of the Bodacious 'Bots

By Julia Wallace Posted on 12.22.2008 7 Comments
It's the ultimate geek fantasy: a metal-and-plastic woman of your own, brought alive by technology (the geek's own stock-in-trade), who somehow becomes hopelessly devoted to you. In both science and science fiction, the creation of female robots has tended to revolve around a housekeeper-whore dichotomy: the fembot is either a docile domestic helper, or a sexually uncontrolled, well, sex machine. Historically, she has simultaneously embodied men’s deep desire for idealized domestic companionship and their fears of being destroyed by unbridled female sexuality.

12.17.2008 at 02:38pm - Comment by qazzzz

I'll take a Cherry 2000 thanks.
Science

Bizarre Parasomnias and Sleep Disorders

By Melinda Dodd Posted on 9.20.2008 8 Comments
French philosopher Gaston Bachelard wrote in 1960 that “sleep opens within us an inn for phantoms.” Recent research agrees, finding that some sleepers shriek or even gorge themselves without knowing it. These sleep-disorder sufferers experience neural glitches that mix conscious and unconscious states. Scientists are now searching for the physiological underpinnings in hopes of developing better drug therapies.

9.19.2008 at 05:14am - Comment by qazzzz

Night terrors are not fun. Lucid dreaming can be. Have a meal before bed, or just eat a chunk of cheese. Sleep on your back. Have fun :P Be aware it may incorporate paralysis. To begin with it's quite scary. The more you experience the more you can let go. Is the Succubus just a myth? Not for everyone.
Technology

Flight of the Jetpack

By Posted on 7.29.2008 23 Comments
Today marked the public debut of the Martin Jetpack, a ducted-fan-equipped personal flying vehicle that could keep pilots aloft for 30 minutes or more. Inventor Glenn Martin has been working on the jetpack—which isn't technically a "jet" pack, given the fans—for 27 years, but he has kept it secret until now. Even his son, Harrison, the 16-year-old test pilot, wasn't allowed to tell his friends that he'd been cruising around the yard back home in Christchurch, New Zealand in a revolutionary flying vehicle.

7.31.2008 at 12:06am - Comment by qazzzz

I'm a skeptic on the utility of these things for a decade or 2 at the very least - materials and improving power/weight for propulsion might one day render them useful though. Some of the comments here are quite ignorant however. Centre of gravity; the powerplant is behind the pilots knees, surely lowering the CoG. Safety; if you visit the website of the maker, it will have a ballistic parachute. Bad luck if you're too low & slow I guess, but safe for most circumstances. I can *almost* see a market beyond Toy for such a craft. Imagine in many cities a direct commute with a flight time of 15-30min (as the makers aim for). This could be equivalent to 1-2 hrs by car. A direct route could of course be over water too (Auckland NZ is an example i'm thinking of). One day...