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World's most powerful laser to tear apart the vacuum of space

World's most powerful laser to tear apart the vacuum of space

New Shark-Fin Pictures Reveal Ocean "Strip Mining" Photograph courtesy Paul Hilton, Pew Environment Group Released October 19, the images show fins and body parts of vulnerable shark species—including the scalloped hammerhead and oceanic whitetip—being prepared for sale. Up to 73 million sharks are caught each year for the global fin trade, which fuels a demand for shark-fin soup, according to Pew. (See "Shark Fins Traced to Home Waters Using DNA—A First." ) "Unfortunately, since there are no limits on the number of these animals that can be killed in the open ocean, this activity can continue unabated," Pew's Matt Rand said in a statement. On October 21 the Taiwan Fisheries Agency announced a ban starting next year on shark finning, but the ban only mandates that caught sharks be taken back to shore with their fins still attached. "This announcement is an indication that Taiwan is on the right track when it comes to protecting sharks.

The History of Pretty Much Everything : Starts With A Bang “Listen; there’s a hell of a good universe next door: let’s go.” -e. e. cummings Sometimes, you just need to take stock of what we know, and appreciate how far we’ve come. So why not — all in one article — go through the entire history of the Universe, from as early as we can say anything sensible to as late as we can say anything sensible? The first 10-25 seconds (or possibly even less): the Universe inflates. Image credit: Ned Wright. …and stretches it flat! …and stretches it across the whole sky, for hundreds of billions of light years! Inflation ends! 10-5 seconds: we can form stable protons and neutrons! What about anti-protons and anti-neutrons, you ask? 1 second: the last of the antimatter annihilates away, leaving just that tiny amount of normal matter, some dark matter, and a huge amount of photons behind! 3 or 4 minutes: the Universe fuses protons and neutrons together into atomic nuclei! 380,000 years: we’ve cooled down enough to form neutral atoms. a hypernova!

Solving America's teen sex problem - Sex When 16-year-old Natalie first started dating her boyfriend, her mother did something that would mortify most American parents: She took her to the doctor’s office to get her contraceptives. Her mother wasn’t weirded out by the fact that her teen daughter was about to have sex — in fact, she fully supported it. She merely wanted to make sure that she was doing it safely, and responsibly. A couple of months later, when it finally happened, her parents were totally accepting. As her father put it, “sixteen is a beautiful age” to lose your virginity. If that seems like an unfamiliar attitude toward sex and parenting, it might have something to do with the fact that Natalie’s parents aren’t American — they’re Dutch. As Schalet’s extensively researched, fascinating work shows, the Netherlands’ radically different approach to sex and child-rearing has managed to radically decrease levels of teen pregnancy, abortion and sexual infections. Yes. That’s the million-dollar question.

How the Sun Shines by John N. Bahcall* What makes the sun shine? Why was there so much fuss about this scientific puzzle? The sun's rays are the ultimate source of almost every motion which takes place on the surface of the earth. In this essay, we shall review from an historical perspective the development of our understanding of how the sun (the nearest star) shines, beginning in the following section with the nineteenth-century controversy over the age of the sun. The Age of the Sun How old is the sun? The rate at which the sun is radiating energy is easily computed by using the measured rate at which energy reaches the earth's surface and the distance between the earth and the sun. The older the sun is, the greater the total amount of radiated solar energy. To better appreciate how difficult it is to find an explanation, let us consider a specific illustration of the enormous rate at which the sun radiates energy. Conflicting Estimates of the Solar Age Who Was Right? A Glimpse of the Solution F.W. W.A.

Questionable Content Questionable Content (abbreviated QC) is a slice of life webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. It was launched on August 1, 2003. Jacques currently makes his living exclusively from QC merchandising and advertising, making him one of the few professional webcomic artists. Background[edit] Jeph Jacques, creator of Questionable Content, makes his living off the comic and related merchandise In 2003, Jacques worked at a local Easthampton, Massachusetts, newspaper answering telephones. Publication[edit] Style[edit] Both the methods of storytelling and the artistic style of the strip have changed considerably since its inception. Jacques spoke on the evolution of his art in an interview at ComixTalk in March 2006: Jacques uses a Wacom Cintiq graphics tablet[18] (previously a Wacom Intuos) to draw his strips and Adobe Photoshop to color them. Synopsis[edit] Setting[edit] Questionable Content takes place in Northampton, Massachusetts. Characters[edit] Recognition[edit] References[edit]

The Elegant Universe: Pt 1 The Elegant Universe: Part 3 PBS Airdate: November 4, 2003 NARRATOR: Now, on NOVA, take a thrill ride into a world stranger than science fiction, where you play the game by breaking some rules, where a new view of the universe pushes you beyond the limits of your wildest imagination. This is the world of "string theory," a way of describing every force and all matter from an atom to earth, to the end of the galaxies—from the birth of time to its final tick, in a single theory, a "Theory of Everything." BRIAN GREENE (Columbia University): And no matter how many times I come here, I never seem to get used to it. NARRATOR: Can he help us solve the greatest puzzle of modern physics—that our understanding of the universe is based on two sets of laws that don't agree? NARRATOR: Resolving that contradiction eluded even Einstein, who made it his final quest. BRIAN GREENE: We really may live in a universe with more dimensions than meet the eye. S. BRIAN GREENE:The atmosphere was electric. S.

Jeph Jacques Jeffrey Paul "Jeph" Jacques (pronounced "Jacks") (born June 17, 1980) writes and illustrates the webcomic Questionable Content. He was born in Rockville, Maryland, and graduated from Hampshire College with a degree in music. He lives in Southampton, Massachusetts with his former-wife and business manager Cristi (they announced their amicable separation on 4 Jan 2014).[1] He also has a younger brother, Justin.[2] Questionable Content[edit] Questionable Content (QC) is a comedic slice-of-life webcomic that Jacques started on August 1, 2003. It was initially published two days a week, and then moved up to three updates a week when Jacques published strip #16.[3] On September 4, 2004 Jacques lost his day job, and decided to try publishing QC every weekday and make a living selling QC-related T-Shirts.[4] Jeph is one of the small number of professional web cartoonists,[citation needed] as he and his former wife Cristi both make their living through QC.[5] Other artistic endeavors[edit]

Rahm's Budget Includes Water, Sewer Fee Increase Mayor Rahm Emanuel formally unveiled his proposed 2012 City budget yesterday and, as the press release from his office indicated, Chicago residents will be paying more fees, fines and other taxes to help shrink a projected $636 million shortfall. In addition to the increase in the hotel tax, a "congestion fee" to be charged on residents and suburban workers who drive into the city for their jobs, declaring a temporary TIF surplus, cutting back on library hours, closing three police stations and eliminating jobs, the mayor proposed a 25 percent increase in water and sewer fees for 2012 that would help fund a revamp of the city sewer system. If you're one of the 316,000 homeowners in Chicago without a water meter you better call the City Water Department to have a free one installed ASAP or start taking Navy Showers. One silver lining in the water hike is that, for now, Emanuel hasn't proposed privatizing the city water system.

Navy shower A navy shower (also known as a "combat shower", "military shower", "sea shower" or "staggered shower") is a method of showering that allows for significant conservation of water and energy by turning off water during the "middle" portion. An initial thirty seconds or so are used to get wet, followed by soap and lather without running water, which is then rinsed off in a minute or less. The total time for the water being on is typically under two minutes. Navy showers originated on naval ships, where supplies of fresh water were often scarce. Using this method, crew members were able to stay clean, while conserving their limited water supply. The United States Navy phrase Hollywood shower contrasts with navy shower, and refers to long lavish showers without limits on water usage.[3][4] In East and Southeast Asia, many people are accustomed to taking their "showers" by scooping water out of a large bucket or trough (or some other fairly large water reservoir) with a dipper.

US OKs $196.5M for high-speed Chicago-Detroit rail DETROIT (AP) — A high-speed passenger train service between Chicago and Detroit took two big steps forward Wednesday with a $196.5 million federal grant to Michigan and the state's acquisition of a 135-mile stretch of track. The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it has awarded Michigan the funds for signal and track improvements on the rail line between Kalamazoo in western Michigan and Dearborn in suburban Detroit. Also Wednesday, the state said that it has agreed to buy the tracks between the two cities from Norfolk Southern Railway for $140 million. The purchase money comes from the U.S. Officials said the improvements would allow trains to reach 110 mph on the segment. The line runs through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan and served about 480,000 passengers in the most recent federal fiscal year. "Investing in rail service will spark economic development in communities along a corridor linking Detroit and Chicago, two vital Midwest cities," Michigan Gov. U.S. Online:

Take-the-bus:-City-employees-ordered-to-use CTA Board Member Charles E. Robinson at a board meeting at CTA headquarters in 2009. Brian Jackson/Chicago Sun-Times BGA Public Eye: Clout Questions at CTA, RTA and CHA The Second Gilded Age: Has America Become an Oligarchy? - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International At first, the outraged members of the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York were mainly met with ridicule. They didn't seem to stand a chance and were judged incapable of going up against their adversaries, Wall Street's bankers and financial managers, either intellectually or in terms of economic knowledge. "We are the 99 percent," is the continuing chant of the protestors, who are now in their seventh week of marching through the streets of Manhattan. And, surprisingly, they have hit upon the crux of America's problems with precisely this sentence. Inequality in America is greater than it has been in almost a century. Those who succeed in the US are congratulated rather than berated. Still, statistics indicate that the growing disparity is genuinely overwhelming. Nearly two-thirds of net private assets are concentrated in the hands of 5 percent of Americans. A New 'Gilded Age' A Threat to the World Economy

Backed By $10M In Funding, Lemon.com Lets You Store, Organize Your Receipts In The Cloud Today sees the formal launch of Lemon, a free cloud-based receipt organizer and spending tracker for Android and iOS devices (Blackberry and Windows Phone versions ‘coming soon’). The service lets users store and organize email and paper receipts in the cloud to help them keep track of purchases, eliminate clutter and start spending smarter. To upload paper receipts, people can download a mobile app and simply snap a picture of the receipt. Lemon will subsequently digitize and store the data. Digital receipts – from any retailer, the fledgling company claims – can be sent directly to one’s Lemon account (which comes with a personal @lemon.com email address). Someone please alert AOL! Lemon goes beyond merely storing data, though: Lemon squeezes out all the juicy details [receipts] contain to help you stay organized, see where your money goes and save some cash along the way. The company has already secured $10 million+ in funding from Lightspeed and Balderton Capital.

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