Lightning Sound of a thunderstorm High-speed, slow-motion lightning video captured with a Phantom v12.1 camera at 6,200 frames per second. Lightning is a massive electrostatic discharge between the electrically charged regions within clouds or between a cloud and the surface of a planet. The charged regions within the atmosphere temporarily equalize themselves through a lightning flash, commonly referred to as a strike if it hits an object on the ground. There are three primary types of lightning; from a cloud to itself (intra-cloud or IC); from one cloud to another cloud (CC) and between a cloud and the ground (CG). Although lightning is always accompanied by the sound of thunder, distant lightning may be seen but be too far away for the thunder to be heard. General considerations Many factors affect the frequency, distribution, strength and physical properties of a "typical" lightning flash in a particular region of the world. General properties Establishing conditions necessary for lightning Types
Village files Military intelligence documents on every Arab village in Mandatory Palestine Village files were military intelligence documents based on a card index system, with detailed data on every Arab village in Mandatory Palestine. Gathered by the SHAI, they were the basis of Haganah and Palmah operations during the 1940s.[1] The files answered the need of combat intelligence for the number of men in the village, the number of weapons, the topography and so on, dealt with the research of traces of ancient Jews in the villages, and with the possibility of buying land from the villagers and settling it.[2] The suggestion for these files came from Luria Ben-Zion, an historian from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who wrote in 1940 to the Jewish National Fund (JNF) that "This would greatly help the redemption of the land". Yossef Weitz, the head of the JNF settlement department immediately suggested that they be turned into a "national project".
Opioid An opioid is any chemical that resembles morphine or other opiates in its pharmacological effects. Opioids work by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract. The receptors in these organ systems mediate the beneficial effects as well as the psychoactive and the side effects of opioids. Although the term opiate is often used as a synonym for opioid, the term opiate is properly limited to the natural alkaloids found in the resin of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), while opioid refers to both opiates and synthetic substances, as well as to opioid peptides. Opioids are among the world's oldest known drugs; the therapeutic use of the opium poppy predates recorded history. The analgesic (painkiller) effects of opioids are due to decreased perception of pain, decreased reaction to pain as well as increased pain tolerance. Medical uses[edit] Acute pain[edit] Chronic non cancer pain[edit] Tolerance[edit]
Global surveillance Mass surveillance across national borders Global mass surveillance can be defined as the mass surveillance of entire populations across national borders.[1] Its roots can be traced back to the middle of the 20th century when the UKUSA Agreement was jointly enacted by the United Kingdom and the United States, which later expanded to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to create the present Five Eyes alliance.[5] The alliance developed cooperation arrangements with several "third-party" nations. Eventually, this resulted in the establishment of a global surveillance network, code-named "ECHELON" (1971).[6][7] Historical background [edit] The origins of global surveillance can be traced back to the late 1940s after the UKUSA Agreement was collaboratively enacted by the United Kingdom and the United States, which eventually culminated in the creation of the global surveillance network code-named "ECHELON" in 1971.[6][7] Today, this global surveillance system continues to grow. Targets and methods
Rudyard Kipling Kipling was one of the most popular writers in England, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[5] Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known."[5] In 1907, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and to date he remains its youngest recipient.[8] Among other honours, he was sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, all of which he declined.[9] Early childhood life[edit] Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Bombay, in the Bombay Presidency of British India, to Alice Kipling (née MacDonald) and (John) Lockwood Kipling.[16] Alice (one of four remarkable Victorian sisters)[17] was a vivacious woman[18] about whom a future Viceroy of India would say, "Dullness and Mrs. Kipling cannot exist in the same room Back to India[edit] London[edit]
Trout memo From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 1939 document The Trout memo, written in 1939, is a document comparing the deception of an enemy in wartime with fly fishing.[1] Issued under the name of Admiral John Godfrey, Britain's director of naval intelligence, according to the historian Ben Macintyre it bore the hallmarks of having been written by Godfrey's assistant Ian Fleming, who later created the James Bond series of spy novels.[2] The memo reads, in part: "The Trout Fisher casts patiently all day. He frequently changes his venue and his lures.
Fire whirl A fire whirl with flames in the vortex Formation[edit] A fire tornado consists of a core—the part that is actually on fire—and an invisible pocket of rotating air that feeds fresh oxygen to the core. The core of a typical fire tornado is 1 to 3 feet (0.30 to 0.91 m) wide and 50 to 100 feet (15 to 30 m) tall. Under the right conditions, large fire tornadoes—several tens of feet wide and more than 1,000 feet (300 m) tall—can form. Combustible, carbon-rich gases released by burning vegetation on the ground are fuel for most fire tornadoes. Real-world fire whirls usually move fairly slowly. Fire tornadoes can last for an hour or more, and they cannot be extinguished directly.[1] Examples[edit] During the 2003 Canberra bushfires, a fire tornado with a diameter of nearly 500 metres (1,600 ft) with horizontal winds exceeding 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph) was documented. The Great Peshtigo Fire grew into a firestorm[citation needed] which probably made one or several true tornadoes.
Counterfeit Monkey 2012 video game Counterfeit Monkey is a 2012 interactive fiction espionage game by Emily Short. The games is set in Anglophone Atlantis, the world's greatest center for linguistic manipulation, and where the danger of the shifting reality has resulted in a police state run by language pedants trying to restrict language in order to keep an orderly reality.[1]: 13m The state had become independent in 1822 by shooting a depluralizing cannon at attacking ships to make it one ship, and then shot that ship.[1]: 14m9s Short identified three categories of puzzles:[1]: 31m39s Knowing which original object to change and the type of transformation (smaller or bigger) but not the name of the target objectKnowing the target object but not the original objectKnowing the target object's intended use (for example "a thing that makes noise", "a thing that is blue") Transformations can be completed by several steps, removing one letter at a time but only as long as each step results in an actual word. [edit]
Metacognition Metacognition is defined as "cognition about cognition", or "knowing about knowing". It comes from the root word "meta", meaning beyond.[1] It can take many forms; it includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or for problem solving.[1] There are generally two components of metacognition: knowledge about cognition, and regulation of cognition.[2] Metamemory, defined as knowing about memory and mnemonic strategies, is an especially important form of metacognition.[3] Differences in metacognitive processing across cultures have not been widely studied, but could provide better outcomes in cross-cultural learning between teachers and students.[4] Some evolutionary psychologists hypothesize that metacognition is used as a survival tool, which would make metacognition the same across cultures.[4] Writings on metacognition can be traced back at least as far as De Anima and the Parva Naturalia of the Greek philosopher Aristotle.[5] Definitions[edit] [edit]
Standard Form 86 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Standard Form 86 (SF 86) is a U.S. government questionnaire that individuals complete in order for the government to collect information for "conducting background investigations, reinvestigations, and continuous evaluations of persons under consideration for, or retention of, national security positions. An online interface for completing the SF-86 is e-QIP, or the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing. Official form at Office of Personnel Management
Khan Academy Espionage Clandestine acquisition of confidential information Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage is called an espionage agent or spy.[1] Any individual or spy ring (a cooperating group of spies), in the service of a government, company, criminal organization, or independent operation, can commit espionage. The practice is clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome. In some circumstances, it may be a legal tool of law enforcement and in others, it may be illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. One way to gather data and information about a targeted organization is by infiltrating its ranks. Espionage has been recognized as of importance in military affairs since ancient times. Today, spy agencies target the illegal drug trade and terrorists as well as state actors.[10] Targets of espionage [edit]