Io9. Special Reports | 'Toilet row' lowers space morale. The International Space Station, once a place where astronauts would share food and facilities, is said to be embroiled in a Cold War-like stand-off. A Russian cosmonaut has complained he is no longer allowed to use a US toilet as well as a US exercise bike. Gennady Padalka, 50, told Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper the lack of sharing was lowering the crew's morale. The veteran cosmonaut said the problem was due to the ISS becoming a more commercial operation. For several years after his first space mission in 1998, Mr Padalka and his American colleagues worked in total harmony, he told the newspaper. But space missions became more commercial in 2003 and Moscow started billing Washington for sending its astronauts into space, he said.
Other nations responded in kind, he added. Space issues "What is going on has an adverse effect on our work," said Mr Padalka, 50, a veteran of two space missions who is to be the station's next commander. "They told me: 'Yes, you can.'
Irony. Winter Solstice 2009: Facts on Shortest Day of the Year. Updated December 21, 2009 Today is the winter solstice and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It's all due to Earth's tilt, which ensures that the shortest day of every year falls around December 21. But it's not all about astronomy. Since ancient times people have marked the winter solstice with countless cultural and religious traditions—it's no coincidence the modern holiday season surrounds the first day of winter. Solstice in Space: Astronomy of the First Day of Winter During the winter solstice the sun hugs closer to the horizon than at any other time during the year, yielding the least amount of daylight annually. On the bright side, the day after the winter solstice marks the beginning of lengthening days leading up to the summer solstice. "Solstice" is derived from the Latin phrase for "sun stands still.
" During the warmer half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, the North Pole is tilted toward the sun. Winter Solstice Marked Since Ancient Times.
Top 10 Bizarre Disappearances - Top 10 Lists | Listverse. Mysteries History is peppered with intriguing tales of people who, for all intents and purposes, inexplicably vanish from the face of the earth without a trace. These stories – some of the most fascinating in the annals of the unexplained – vary from being well-documented to having the flavor of mere legend and folklore. This is the top 10 bizarre disappearances. 10.
The story of Oliver Larch (Sometime known as Lerch or Thomas) follows a similar narrative to that of David Lang (item 3). 9. In December 1900, three lighthouse keepers vanished from their duty stations, leaving behind equipment important to surviving the hostile conditions at that location and time of year. 8. Between 1920 and 1950, Bennington, Vermont was the site of several completely unexplained disappearances: On December 1, 1949, Mr. On December 1, 1946, an 18-year-old student named Paula Welden vanished while taking a walk. In mid-October, 1950, 8-year old Paul Jepson disappeared from a farm. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1.
Volcano. Pollution. Earthquake. Historico. Various stuff. Cyberpunk Review. Somalis accused of piracy are charged in South Korea. 25 February 2011Last updated at 09:42 The five young suspected pirates say they were following orders from their boss Prosecutors in South Korea have charged five Somali men suspected of being pirates with attempted murder. The charge can carry a sentence of life in prison, or death; lesser charges such as maritime robbery were also brought against the men.
The Somalis were seized when South Korean special forces stormed a cargo ship that had been hijacked by pirates last month. The ship's captain was shot during the rescue; eight pirates were killed. The Busan prosecutor's office said that Captain Seok Hae-gyun had suffered a life-threatening wound from a pirate during the raid on the South Korean-owned Samho Jewelry on 15 January. He is a serious but stable condition.
"When the commandos launched their raid, Captain Seok was lying on the floor," prosecutor Jeong Jeom-Shik told reporters, adding Seok was hit by stray bullets from the commandos after being critically injured.
Carl. Mine. Houseboat. Coro. Formas. Geneva_convention. Thermite. Tabela. C&EN: COVER STORY - THE MANY FACETS OF MAN-MADE DIAMONDS. Before the 1930s, the gems of choice for engagement rings included opals, rubies, and sapphires. But in the 1940s, De Beers--the South African mining firm that controls the majority of the world's diamond supply--introduced "A Diamond Is Forever. " The success of this campaign turned diamond into the symbol of eternal love and dramatically increased demand for the gems. Today, two start-up companies are staking their futures on the lure of more affordable, laboratory-grown diamond gemstones. But because of diamond's remarkable optical, thermal, chemical, and electronic properties, synthetic diamond promises to offer a lot more than just beautiful jewelry. In a warehouse in Sarasota, Fla., a company called Gemesis is growing diamonds in two dozen or so high-pressure, high-temperature crystal growth chambers, each the size of a washing machine.
A rough diamond of this size can be cut and polished to give a diamond gem larger than 1.5 carats. SYNTHETIC DIAMONDS are nothing new. U.K.
HOWTO. Home. [Translations: French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish] The long tail is famously good news for two classes of people; a few lucky aggregators, such as Amazon and Netflix, and 6 billion consumers. Of those two, I think consumers earn the greater reward from the wealth hidden in infinite niches. But the long tail is a decidedly mixed blessing for creators. Individual artists, producers, inventors and makers are overlooked in the equation. The long tail does not raise the sales of creators much, but it does add massive competition and endless downward pressure on prices. Unless artists become a large aggregator of other artist's works, the long tail offers no path out of the quiet doldrums of minuscule sales. Other than aim for a blockbuster hit, what can an artist do to escape the long tail? One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce.
One thousand is a feasible number. A few caveats. Les UX. The UX (for Urban eXperiment) is an underground organization that improves hidden corners of Paris. Their works have included restoring the Pantheon clock,[1] building a cinema, complete with bar and restaurant, underneath the Trocadéro, restoring medieval crypts, and staging plays and readings in monuments after dark. The group's membership is largely secret, but its spokespeople include Lazar Kunstmann. History[edit] Beginning in September 1981, the founders of the group stole plans of the many underground passage ways and tunnels for which Paris is famous. Using these information venues as a base, [2] the group of anonymous artists and citizens have restored much of the underground infrastructure, including the restoration of the Pantheon clock which chimed for the first time in many years after their repair.
The shadowy group of unknowns is also responsible for over a dozen other projects, including those which the French government has not chosen to do or lacks funds for.[3] [1] Underground ‘terrorists’ with a mission to save city’s neglected.