Teaching Computers To Learn

ABC News Australia: Scientists teach computers how to learn like humans

For artificial intelligence and smart machines to really take off, computers are going to have to think more like people, according to experts in the field.

Now, US scientists have created a computer model, or algorithm, that captures the unique human ability to grasp new concepts in a study that involved learning unfamiliar handwritten alphabet characters.

The algorithm enabled computers to recognise and draw simple symbols that were indistinguishable from those created by humans.

The study, reported in the journal Science, is a "significant advance" in the field of artificial intelligence, the scientists said.

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CSN Editor: If these developments continue, I guess it is only going to be a matter of time before the student (AI machines) will surpass the teacher (this is us).

Tracking Global Migration Trends

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Zero Hedge: Tracking People Flows: Global Migration Summarized In 7 Charts

With the topic of global (im)migration getting increasingly more prominence as we get ever closer to the presidential elections, not to mention Europe's ongoing plight with the biggest refugee crisis since World War II, here is a handful of factual, and bias-free, charts summarizing the key aspects of global human mobility.

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CSN Editor: I concur with the Zero Hedge's analysis .... global migration is going to be a big news story for the next few years (if not longer).

US Wild Bee Numbers Continue To Decline

This map shows bee abundance in 2013

BBC: US wild bee numbers decline as land is converted for biofuel

Wild bees in the US have declined in many farming areas according to the first national effort to map their numbers.

The study suggests that between 2008 and 2013, the numbers of wild bees went down across almost a quarter of the US.

The researchers say that the conversion of land to grow corn for biofuels is a key element in the decline.

If the trend continues say the scientists, it could drive up costs and destabilise crop production.

Wild bees play an important role in pollinating many US crops and plants. It's estimated that they contribute around $3bn to the value of agriculture every year.

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CSN Editor: This is not a positive trend.

North Korea Has Developed Its Own Computer Operating System

A North Korean operating system is seen in this screen shot taken in Seoul December 23, 2015. REUTERS/JAMES PEARSON

Reuters: Paranoid: North Korea's computer operating system mirrors its political one

North Korea's homegrown computer operating system mirrors its political one, according to two German researchers who have delved into the code: a go-it-alone approach, a high degree of paranoia and invasive snooping on users.

Their research, the deepest yet into the secretive state's Red Star OS, illustrates the challenges Pyongyang faces in trying to embrace the benefits of computing and the internet while keeping a tight grip on ideas and culture.

The researchers, Florian Grunow and Niklaus Schiess of German IT security company ERNW GmbH, spoke to Reuters before presenting their findings to the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg on Sunday, a gathering of hackers and security researchers.

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CSN Editor: I have experienced the major Russian and Chinese operating systems .... "groan" is the only word that comes to my mind. Software is a decidedly Western advantage ... and will probably be the case for the foreseeable future.

Update #1: Russian Operating System to Launch in Next Decade (Moscow Times)
Update #2: A first look at the Chinese operating system the government wants to replace Windows (Quartz)

A Cash Free Future?

New York Times: In Sweden, a Cash-Free Future Nears

STOCKHOLM — Parishioners text tithes to their churches. Homeless street vendors carry mobile credit-card readers. Even the Abba Museum, despite being a shrine to the 1970s pop group that wrote “Money, Money, Money,” considers cash so last-century that it does not accept bills and coins.

Few places are tilting toward a cashless future as quickly as Sweden, which has become hooked on the convenience of paying by app and plastic.

This tech-forward country, home to the music streaming service Spotify and the maker of the Candy Crush mobile games, has been lured by the innovations that make digital payments easier. It is also a practical matter, as many of the country’s banks no longer accept or dispense cash.

At the Abba Museum, “we don’t want to be behind the times by taking cash while cash is dying out,” said Bjorn Ulvaeus, a former Abba member who has leveraged the band’s legacy into a sprawling business empire, including the museum.

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CSN Editor: Being one who grew up appreciating cash .... this is one trend that this old editor is going to have trouble accepting.

The Science Of Human Taste And Smell

Faye Flam, Bloomberg: The Science Behind a Chocolate Funk

It's been a horrible week for Mast Brothers Chocolate, and therein lies a scientific mystery.

Just days ago, serious foodies were buying the stuff for $10 a bar. Then, a series of posts on a blog called Dallasfood.org suggested the chocolate was not as authentic as the Brooklyn-based company claimed, and suddenly the food press was calling the product “crappy," “bitter” and “chalky.” One scathing review in the Guardian suggested that one of the bars carried “that sweaty gym sock sourness” associated with funky cheese.

If the chocolate really tastes that terrible, why is it only obvious now?

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CSN Editor: I have tried their chocolate .... it is not bad at all.

Is Apple Running Out Of Ideas?

Repetition ... After launching the Apple Watch this year, Apple’s next big thing is more of the same. Picture: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

News.Com.au: Apple sales set to slump in 2016 with no new products, analysts warn

AFTER a year of big Apple releases, analysts are predicting a flat 2016 where the world’s biggest tech company refines product lines rather than produces the next big thing.

Apple’s share price has taken a battering in the past six months, with more than $220 billion slashed from the company’s value as analysts look towards an era of smartphone saturation.

Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty recently predicted that 2016 would be first time that iPhone sales would shrink, dropping by up to three per cent.

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CSN Editor: Like Facebook (previous post) .... innovate or die.

Facebook Wants To Dominate The World

CNet: Facebook will stop at nothing short of world domination

How do you keep growing when you're already the world's largest social network? Fast food may provide the answer.

Facebook has more in common with McDonald's than you might think.

Both are at the top of their respective fields, so widely used and recognized that they're the icons of the industries they dominate. It took the fast-food chain eight years to serve up a billion burgers; it took the social network eight years to sign up a billion people.

Now it seems they've taken similar strategies to get more attention and win over more customers.

McDonald's looked beyond its staples of Big Macs and fries and added the Filet-O-Fish, Chicken McNugget and Egg McMuffin to its menu over a few decades, along with salads and gourmet coffees.

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CSN Editor: The story of every tech company .... innovate or die. Facebook is not an exception to this rule.

If You Missed The SpaceX Landing, You Can Watch It Here

Popular Science: Missed The SpaceX Landing? Watch It Here

Last night, SpaceX stuck its landing, setting down the first stage of their Falcon 9 rocket after it launched satellites into space.

The move means that it may now be possible to re-use rockets that can transport cargo into orbit. But this particular rocket isn't slated to return to flight. The Verge reports that Elon Musk doesn't want this rocket to fly again because it's the first they've brought back, and is therefore unique. It will be test-fired on the ground, just to see if it could have been reused, then presumably retire to a farm upstate where it can frolic in the meadows. Other rockets that come later will actually be reused across multiple launches (which is kind of the point of re-usable rockets).

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CSN Editor: Cool

These Incredible Maps Reveal The World At A Glance

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This map shows how large parts of Asia have the smallest penis measurements, between 4.5 inches and 11.4cm, while men in Sudan, the Democratic of Congo and Columbia, amongst others, typically measure between 6.5 inches and 16.5cm in length

Daily Mail: The stunning maps that reveal the world at a glance: From manhood and breast size to obesity and divorce rates, how does YOUR country fare?

* Men in some African and Central American countries have the biggest penis sizes averaging more than 6.5 inches
* Women in Russia have the largest average breast size, with most measuring in at above a D-cup
* The places with the highest levels of obesity were the US and Saudi Arabia when it comes to both men and women

Ever wondered where women with big breasts are abundant and which country has men that are most well-endowed?

These colourful globes map the world's vital statistics but as you have never seen them before.

It seems that some of the stereotypes are true at least with men in many African countries having the biggest penis sizes on average.

Meanwhile, women in Russia have the largest cup-size, with most females measuring in at a D-cup or above.

From which fast-food joint is the most popular in Denmark to which nation keeps the most people incarcerated, some of the results are likely to surprise you.

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CSN Editor: This answers a few questions that I have accumulated over my many years of travel.

Why Modern Cars Are So Much Safer

Popular Mechanics: The Physics of Why Modern Cars Are So Much Safer, Explained in 146 Seconds

The science of why you should learn to love the crumple zone.

Car crashes are still extremely deadly—32,719 Americans died in car accidents in 2013, or almost 90 people a day. But the number of people dying in car crashes—particularly when expressed as how many people per 100,000 die in an auto accident—has essentially steadily declined since the early 1970s. the early 1970s.

CSN Editor: The problem with cars that easily "crumple" is that it is easy to damage them at minor speed ... hence higher insurance rates. But it is a still a no brainer .... at moderate to high speeds it is better to be in a a car that crumples than being in a car that does not.

A Look At How Animals Think

Economist: Animals think, therefore…

The inner lives of animals are hard to study. But there is evidence that they may be a lot richer than science once thought

IN 1992, at Tangalooma, off the coast of Queensland, people began to throw fish into the water for the local wild dolphins to eat. In 1998, the dolphins began to feed the humans, throwing fish up onto the jetty for them. The humans thought they were having a bit of fun feeding the animals. What, if anything, did the dolphins think?

Charles Darwin thought the mental capacities of animals and people differed only in degree, not kind—a natural conclusion to reach when armed with the radical new belief that the one evolved from the other. His last great book, “The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals”, examined joy, love and grief in birds, domestic animals and primates as well as in various human races. But Darwin’s attitude to animals—easily shared by people in everyday contact with dogs, horses, even mice—ran contrary to a long tradition in European thought which held that animals had no minds at all. This way of thinking stemmed from the argument of René Descartes, a great 17th-century philosopher, that people were creatures of reason, linked to the mind of God, while animals were merely machines made of flesh—living robots which, in the words of Nicolas Malebranche, one of his followers, “eat without pleasure, cry without pain, grow without knowing it: they desire nothing, fear nothing, know nothing.”

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CSN Editor: I sometimes wonder if my dog trained me .... and not the other way around.

Is There A Safe Level Of Alcohol Consumption?

Photo courtesy of www.somethingyoushouldread.com

The Guardian: There is no such thing as a safe level of alcohol consumption

The idea that drinking small amounts of alcohol will do you no harm is a myth, claims Professor David Nutt

Last week I attended a discussion group chaired by the Observer's health correspondent Denis Campbell where one of the other experts, a public health doctor, asserted that alcohol should be treated differently from tobacco (and by inference other drugs) because there is no safe dose of tobacco whereas alcohol is safe until a person's drinking gets to "unsafe" levels. Its health benefits for the cardiovascular system are also often used to support the claim that in low doses alcohol is safe, for how else could it be health-promoting?

The myth of a safe level of drinking is a powerful claim. It is one that many health professionals appear to believe in and that the alcohol industry uses to defend its strategy of making the drug readily available at low prices. However, the claim is wrong and the supporting evidence flawed.

There is no safe dose of alcohol for these reasons:

CSN Editor: I need a drink.

Glitches Prevent Users From Using Skype

Daily Mail: Skype goes offline: Glitch prevents users from making calls and logging in

* Skype says glitch makes users appear to be offline even if they are online
* The technical problem is thought to be affecting users around the world
* Microsoft, which owns Skype, said engineers were working to fix the issue

Skype users around the world have been left unable to make calls with service after a glitch made everyone appear as if they were offline.

Microsoft, which owns Skype, said the technical problem meant users signed into were unable to change their status and all contacts showed as offline even if they were online.

This meant users were unable to initiate calls to each other.

CSN editor: I needed Skype today .... but in the end I had to make a long distance phone call. Yup .... you never appreciate the tech that we have until we no longer have it.

Some Surprising Facts About LEGOs

Popular Mechanics: 10 Surprising Facts About LEGO

You're never going to look at your favorite toy the same way again

Like Easy-Bake Ovens and Troll dolls, you probably remember these famous plastic bricks fondly from your childhood. But did you know the first one was made in 1932 and out of wood? Didn't think so. Here are a few more facts you might not know about the toy of the century:

CSN Editor: I guess this explains why they are so expensive.

How One Drop Of Blood Can Tell Your Medical History

The virus SV40, which might cause cancer in humans. Phoebus87 via Wikimedia Commons

Popular Science: Your History In A Drop Of Blood

A new test can see just about every virus you've ever had

A blood sample can now reveal a record of viruses you’ve had throughout life, thanks to a new test developed at Harvard called VirScan. It looks for evidence of antibodies produced by the immune system to kill viral invaders. “It’s kind of like fishing,” says geneticist Tomasz Kula. “We’ve made this huge pond [of viral bits], and we see which ones the antibodies stick to.”

How it works: VirScan matches antibodies in a person’s blood sample to a library of 93,000 snippets of viral code. It can find evidence of up to 1,000 different viruses.

Here are the viruses the team found in 303 blood samples--hover over the yellow circles to learn more.

CSN Editor: Recent advances in diagnostics have been truly impressive.

The Science Behind Melting Cheese

Serious Eats: The Science of Melting Cheese

Have you ever gotten all excited to make a grilled cheese and then...your cheese just doesn't melt? Or maybe it breaks, separating into a tough, stringy mass surrounded by a pool of oil? Yup, it's a crappy feeling. Luckily, there are ways to know what you're getting into before that happens. Science ways.

Want to reliably tell whether the cheese you're buying is gonna dominate the melting game or stay nice and solid for cooking or grilling? Wish you could make any melting cheese melt better? Here's what you need to know.

CSN Editor: Damn .... I feel hungry.

This Is What One Year In Space Does To Your Body

The Verge: Here’s what one year in space does to your body

Want to know how much poop an astronaut produces while spending a year on the International Space Station? It's somewhere around 180 pounds.

That fun fact is brought to you by NASA, which just released an infographic breaking down all the numbers surrounding astronaut Scott Kelly's one-year stay on the ISS. Kelly and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are both in the midst of spending a full year on the station as part of the One Year Mission — an experiment to study the long-term effects of spaceflight on the human body. The mission will help NASA better prepare for its eventual journey to Mars in the 2030s. A trip to the Red Planet is going to take multiple months, so NASA wants to know how the microgravity environment of space will affect the body during that time.

CSN Editor: One year in space .... that is a long time.

Killer Whales Can 'Talk' Like Dolphins

Killer Whales Can 'Talk' Like Dolphins When The Two Species Spend Time Together: Orcas Imitate Sounds To Help Them Communicate -- Daily Mail

* Killer whales can engage in cross-species ‘vocal learning’ by matching the types of sounds made by bottlenose dolphins when spending time with them
* Results suggest vocal imitation may enable social interactions in cetaceans
* Killer whales make clicks, whistles and pulsed calls, which are repeated brief bursts of sound punctuated with silence
* When they spent time with dolphins they altered these noises to make more dolphin-like clicks and fewer pulsed calls, which dolphins don't make
* Study was conducted by Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in San Diego

Most animals make noises that are innate, not learned.

But scientists claim killer whales can learn to ‘talk’ like dolphins when the two species spend time together.

This means the ocean predators join the likes of bats, some birds and humans that each copy sounds and use them in appropriate social contexts.

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My Comment: I always find it amazing that we are still making discoveries even though we have been studying animals .... like killer whales .... for years.

A Means To Harness Wind Energy At 2,000 Feet

Altaeros' Buoyant Air Turbine: Last year, Altaeros tested a prototype of the turbine at a height of 500 feet in Maine, where it flew in 45mph winds. courtesy Altaeros

The Quest To Harness Wind Energy At 2,000 Feet -- Popular Science

High-altitude wind contains enough energy to power the planet. A Boston start-up wants to be the first to bring it down to Earth.

Nothing about the grooved, inflatable body taking shape inside Greentown Labs in Somerville, Massachusetts, resembles a wind turbine. It looks more like a jetliner's emergency ramp, or something you'd tie behind a boat and cling to desperately while bumping across the surface of a lake. But the 14-foot-long structure most resembles what it actually is--an air-filled wing.

To be more precise, it's a stabilizing fin, part of a tube-shaped, robotic airship designed to tap the power of high-altitude winds. The blade tips of today's tallest conventional wind turbine, installed at a test center in Denmark this year, stretch to 720 feet. The fully autonomous, lighter-than-air BAT (short for buoyant airborne turbine) will climb as high as 2,000 feet, where winds blow stronger and steadier.

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My Comment: People are protesting windmills on the ground .... I expect the same protests for these wind turbines 2,000 feet in the air.

'Tyupkin' Malware Lets Criminals Steal Millions From ATMs Around The World

Infected Cash Machines Are Giving Away Money: 'Tyupkin' Malware Lets Criminals Steal Millions From ATMs Around The World -- Daily Mail

* Malicious software allows thieves to visit cash machines and empty them
* Money has been stolen from machines in Latin America, Europe and Asia
* ATMs are deliberately infected with so-called Tyupkin malware by criminals
* They then visit the machines at night and enter codes to access the cash
* Security experts have warned banks to boost the security of ATMs

Computer viruses may make your laptop run slower and even steal personal details such as passwords, but they can also attack cash machines - with expensive results.

Experts have forensically investigated cybercriminal attacks targeting ATMs around the world and have discovered a piece of malware called 'Tyupkin' that is leaving hundreds of machines at risk.

This malicious software allows thieves to visit cash machines and empty them – stealing millions in the process - without the need for a card.

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My Comment: Not so secure after-all.

Everything Is CGI

This Is CG -- Techcrunch

This is your semi-regular reminder that CGI is at or beyond the point of absurdity, that everything on the Internet is fake, that there is no spoon, etc.

Because seriously. Look at that. Look at it.

I think this is the first time I’ve watched a video like this and wandered right on past the uncanny valley, only to plummet backwards into it when I realized — about halfway through, mind you — that it was rendered.

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My Comment: It fooled me.

Spain Has 1st Known Case Of Contracting Ebola Outside Of Africa

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Spain Has Outbreak's 1st Known Case Of Contracting Ebola Outside Of Africa -- CNN

(CNN) -- A nurse's assistant in Spain is the first person known to have contracted Ebola outside of Africa in the current outbreak.

Spanish Health Minister Ana Mato announced Monday that a test confirmed the assistant has the virus.

The woman had helped treat a Spanish missionary and a Spanish priest, both of whom had contracted Ebola in West Africa.

Both died after returning to Spain.

Health officials said she developed symptoms on September 30. She was hospitalized Sunday.

An investigation is under way to find everyone she may have had contact with while contagious. So far, there are no other known cases.

She was one of about 30 health professionals in Spain who helped to treat the Ebola patients.

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More News On The Ebola Epidemic: Spain Has 1st Known Case Of Contracting Ebola Outside Of Africa

Spanish Nurse Is Suspected of Ebola Infection -- AP
Nurse at Spain hospital contracts Ebola -- AFP
Nurse in Spain tests positive for Ebola in first infection outside west Africa -- The Guardian
Ebola outbreak: Nurse infected in Spain -- BBC
Spanish health-care worker contracts Ebola in first transmission case outside of Africa -- Washington Post
Health-Care Worker Contracted Ebola in Spanish Hospital -- WSJ
Spanish nurse tests positive for Ebola -- Al Jazeera
Spanish nurse tests positive for Ebola after treating victim in Madrid -- RT
Hospital Nurse in Spain Gets Infected With Ebola: Reports -- RIA Novosti
Spanish nurse infected with Ebola in Europe -- Deutsche Welle

The Whale Who Thought He Could Fly

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

Hello there: A humpback whale threw itself out of the water off the eastern coast of South Africa, waving to amazed onlookers in a tour guide's boat

The Whale Who Thought He Could Fly: Amazing Moment Humpback Is Captured Leaping Out Of The Water (And Even Manages A Wave) -- Daily Mail

* Marine tour guide Steven Benjamin captured the spectacular sight while whale-spotting off the coast of South Africa
* The 31-year-old was 'blown away' by the humpback, which disappeared for 20 minutes before leaping from the water
* The majestic animal even 'waved' his fin at the stunned onlookers in a rare close encounter with the huge creatures

These jaw-dropping images show the moment a humpback whale leapt majestically from the ocean, 'waving' to a tourist boat before crashing back down with an almighty splash.

The photos, taken off the coast of South Africa by marine tour guide Steven Benjamin, captured a sight rarely seen at such close proximity.

The 40 ton humpback put on an incredible aerial display, soaring through the air just yards from a boat as shocked onlookers screamed.

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My Comment: These people were lucky .... to see something like that in front of them .... it must have been incredible.

How Memories Are Formed

3D image of the hippocampus of a rat. Credit: © M. Pyka

A Glimpse Into The 3-D Brain: How Memories Form -- Science Daily

Summary: People who wish to know how memory works are forced to take a glimpse into the brain. They can now do so without bloodshed: Researchers have developed a new method for creating 3-D models of memory-relevant brain structures.

People who wish to know how memory works are forced to take a glimpse into the brain. They can now do so without bloodshed: RUB researchers have developed a new method for creating 3D models of memory-relevant brain structures. They published their results in the journal Frontiers in Neuroanatomy.

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My Comment: A first step (among many) on how memories are formed.

A New Underwater Robot Could Be Used To Sniff Out Smuggled Drugs, Weapons

The oval-shaped submersible robot is half waterpoof to keep electronic components safe from damage. Credit: Sampriti Bhattacharyya/MIT

Underwater Robots Could Sniff Out Smuggled Drugs, Weapons -- Live Science

A warning to all smugglers: A new underwater robot could be used to sniff out contraband — including weapons and drugs — hidden aboard ships.

Developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the new, oval-shaped robot may be small (it's slightly smaller than a football), but it features some big crime-stopping abilities. One side of the bot is flat, which enables it to slide along the bottom of a ship to perform ultrasound scans of the vessel's hull.

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My Comment: I can see this being deployed in war zones ... or potential war zones like the Persian Gulf.

You Can Now Make A Metal Gun In Your Home

The $1,200 Machine That Lets Anyone Make a Metal Gun at Home -- Threat Level/Wired

When Cody Wilson revealed the world’s first fully 3-D printed gun last year, he showed that the “maker” movement has enabled anyone to create a working, lethal firearm with a click in the privacy of his or her garage. Now he’s moved on to a new form of digital DIY gunsmithing. And this time the results aren’t made of plastic.

Wilson’s latest radically libertarian project is a PC-connected milling machine he calls the Ghost Gunner. Like any computer-numerically-controlled (or CNC) mill, the one-foot-cubed black box uses a drill bit mounted on a head that moves in three dimensions to automatically carve digitally-modeled shapes into polymer, wood or aluminum. But this CNC mill, sold by Wilson’s organization known as Defense Distributed for $1,200, is designed to create one object in particular: the component of an AR-15 rifle known as its lower receiver.

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My Comment: This technology is only going to develop and expand with time.

The Science Of Sharpening A Knife

How To Sharpen Any Knife -- Gizmodo

A sharp knife isn't just sharper, it's a safer, more efficient, more precise tool. And, like most people, your knives are probably dull. Here's how to fix that quickly, easily and cheaply.

Why do you need to sharpen knives? A sharp knife stands less chance of slipping on the material being cut and, because it requires less effort and force to use than a dull knife, you're less likely to cut yourself. Working with a sharp knife is faster and easier, too. It also damages the material being cut less — ever tried to slice a tomato with a dull knife? It doesn't exactly produce clean results.

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My Comment: For those who love to cook .... a sharp knife is essential. This is a good summary on how to have one.

A Better Map Of The Ocean Floor Has Been Produced

The new gravity data gives us our clearest view yet of the shape of the ocean floor

Satellites Detect 'Thousands' Of New Ocean-Bottom Mountains -- BBC

It is not every day you can announce the discovery of thousands of new mountains on Earth, but that is what a US-European research team has done.

What is more, these peaks are all at least 1.5km high.

The reason they have gone unrecognised until now is because they are at the bottom of the ocean.
Dave Sandwell and colleagues used radar satellites to discern the mountains' presence under water and report their findings in Science Magazine.

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My Comment: The oceans are still a mystery .... but more is being discovered about the oceans everyday.

Security Officials: Ebola Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons

Ebola Virus: Pandemic Should Be Treated 'The Same Way' As Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons, Security Officials Say -- The Independent

Special report: The Government has admitted that the virus spreading across Africa will 'get worse'

The Ebola virus spreading exponentially across Africa and killing thousands of people “will get worse”, the Government has admitted, amid calls for the full involvement of the international military to contain the disease.

Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, said that ministers had been shocked by a prediction from the US public health institute that 1.4 million people may be infected by the virus by January if it continues unchecked.

As ministers, diplomats and humanitarian organisations from 20 different countries pledged a further £79 million to control the outbreak, which has already killed more than 3,000 people, a group of 35 European security officials issued a joint declaration suggesting that Ebola should be treated in the same way as the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

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My Comment: Is it me .... or am I starting to sense panic among our government officials?

UN's Ebola Response Chief Warns Of A 'Global Nightmare' On The Prospect Of The Virus Mutating And Becoming Airborne

A burial team remove a Ebola victim's body from isolation in Sierra Leone

Doomsday Warning: UN Ebola Chief Raises 'Nightmare' Prospect That Virus Could Mutate And Become Airborne - Making It Much More Infectious -- Daily Mail

* UN warns Ebola virus currently plaguing West Africa could become airborne
* The longer it moves between human hosts the greater possibility of mutation
* The risk grows the longer virus is living within the human 'melting pot'
* NGOs have said the Ebola virus is currently infecting five people every hour
* More than 3,300 people have died from Ebola since the outbreak first began
* Officials call for 1,000 new Sierra Leone isolation centres to contain virus
* British survivor says 'horror' of children dying from disease must be avoided
* Will Pooley was first Briton to contract virus after working in Sierra Leone
* Thomas Eric Duncan is the first person to be diagnosed in the U.S.
* He flew into Texas from Liberia, touching down in Brussels and Washington
* Up to 100 people in Texas are feared to have come into contact with him
* Doctors at the hospital in Texas said he was in a serious but stable condition

The longer the Ebola epidemic continues infecting people unabated, the higher the chances it will mutate and become airborne, the UN's Ebola response chief has warned.

Anthony Banbury, the Secretary General's Special Representative, has said there is a 'nightmare' prospect the deadly disease will become airborne if it continues infecting new hosts.

His comments come as organisations battling the crisis in West Africa warned the international community has just four weeks to stop its spread before it spirals 'completely out of control'.

And the British nurse who survived the disease said the 'horror and misery' of watching young children die from the disease must be avoided 'at all costs'.

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My Comment: The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is giving the world has only four weeks to stop the crisis from spiraling out of control .... 1 month to stop Ebola before it's 'totally out of control' - global aid NGO -- RT

A New Way To Store Oxygen

Photo: The Oxygen-Absorbing Material. U. of Southern Denmark

Weird Crystal Can Absorb All The Oxygen In A Room -- And Then Release It Later -- Popular Science

This could potentially make fuel cells, space travel, and scuba diving a lot more efficient.

Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark say they’ve invented a crystal that pulls oxygen out of the air and even water. Apparently, just a spoonful of the stuff can suck up all the oxygen in a room.

The crystal is a salt made from cobalt*, and it appears to be capable of holding oxygen at a concentration that is 160 times higher than the air we breathe. The paper notes that "an excess" of the substance would bind up to 99 percent of the oxygen in a room.

But what’s more remarkable is that the crystal can later release the oxygen when exposed to heat or low-oxygen conditions. In a press release, study author Christine McKenzie likens it to the hemoglobin in our blood, which uses iron to bind and release oxygen in the human body.

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My Comment: Space travel, underwater use, energy systems/fuel cells, the applications are endless.

A Blast From The Past: A 1981 News Report On The Internet

1981 News Report On The Internet is Now Hilarious -- Neatorama

There are so many amusing things in this 1981 television report about getting newspaper content from the Internet that it's hard to keep track. The smirk and smug tone of voice of the reporter, as if she's informing the public of a quaint yet ridiculous idea that stands no chance of ever being embraced by the public. The opening line: "Imagine if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee and turning on your home computer to read the day's newspaper." Mind boggling! The CRT screens, dial-up connections using a phone receiver and hours of download time for a text file.

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My Comment: We have certainly gone a long way in 33 years.

The Real Story Of The U.S. President's 'Nuclear Football'

From the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the nuclear "football." (Jamie Chung)

The Real Story of the "Football" That Follows the President Everywhere -- Michael Dobbs, Smithsonian Magazine

Take a peek at the mysterious black briefcase that has accompanied every U.S. president since John F. Kennedy

It is the closest modern-day equivalent of the medieval crown and scepter—a symbol of supreme authority. Accompanying the commander in chief wherever he goes, the innocuous-looking briefcase is touted in movies and spy novels as the ultimate power accessory, a doomsday machine that could destroy the entire world.

Officially known as the “president’s emergency satchel,” the so-called nuclear “Football”—portable and hand-carried—is built around a sturdy aluminum frame, encased in black leather. A retired Football, emptied of its top-secret inner contents, is currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. “We were looking for something that would demonstrate the incredible military power and responsibilities of the president, and we struck upon this iconic object,” says curator Harry Rubenstein.

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WNU Editor: The below video describes how important the 'nuclear football' is.

This Is The Greatest Paper Map Of The United States

Left: Imus map of Cincinnati. Right: National Geographic map of Cincinnati

The Greatest Paper Map Of The United States You’ll Ever See -- Seth Stevenson

Made by one guy in Oregon.

American mapmaking’s most prestigious honor is the “Best of Show” award at the annual competition of the Cartography and Geographic Information Society. The five most recent winners were all maps designed by large, well-known institutions: National Geographic (three times), the Central Intelligence Agency Cartography Center, and the U.S. Census Bureau. But earlier this year, the 38^th annual Best of Show award went to a map created by Imus Geographics—which is basically one dude named David Imus working in a farmhouse outside Eugene, Ore.

At first glance, Imus’ “The Essential Geography of the United States of America” may look like any other U.S. wall map. It’s about 4 feet by 3 feet. It uses a standard, two-dimensional conic projection. It has place names. Political boundaries. Lakes, rivers, highways.

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My Comment: Yup ... this is proof that you can always make something better .... even a better map.

Amazing Video Of What A Nuclear Explosion Looks Like

One Of The Most Amazing Nuclear Explosions Ever Recorded On Film -- Sploid

As things get hotter between Russia and NATO, Putin is waving his nuclear dick around. Russia plans to conduct massive nuclear war maneuvers. Yesterday it successfully tested its new Bulava ("Mace") submarine launched nuclear missile, hitting its target with complete accuracy with its dummy warheads.

The Red Fleet's Commander-in-Chief Admiral Viktor Chirkov said that it blasted off from the White Sea, hitting its objective in the Russian Federation's far east minutes later. The Bulava can travel for 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) to rain nuclear death in the form of six to ten warheads.

Let's pause a bit, look at this video, and reflect on this.

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My Comment: I have seen this video before .... it is a testament to how inventive and destructive man can be at the same time.

Millions Across Africa Are Now At Risk In The Latest Ebola Outbreak

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Millions More At Risk In Ebola Outbreak, British Study Finds -- The Telegraph

Research by the University of Oxford reveals how 15 more countries across Africa could be hit by the Ebola virus

The deadliest Ebola outbreak in history could spread to a further 15 countries in West and Central Africa, putting up to 70 million people at risk of infection, a ground-breaking study has found.

Research by the University of Oxford compared historic outbreaks to the virus’ possible transmission in bats and chimpanzees to predict how the disease could spread through its vast animal reservoir.

It is the first time scientists have attempted to explain how the virus, which is contracted through contact with infected bodily fluids, has travelled westward across Africa.

The resulting map shows how the populations of the Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ghana and a dozen more countries could be hit by the outbreak, which has already killed nearly 2,300 people in 2014.

Read more ....

More News On The Ebola Crisis

Ebola virus: 'Biological war' in Liberia -- BBC
Ebola is ‘devouring everything in its path.’ Could it lead to Liberia’s collapse? -- Washington Post
Virologist: Fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia is lost -- Deutsche Welle
Ebola outbreak a 'war with an enemy that we don't see' -- AP
Ebola death toll rises to at least 2,296, WHO says -- FOX News/Reuters
35 Deaths Attributed to Ebola Outbreak in Congo -- AP
Worst Ebola outbreak on record tests global response -- Reuters
Official: U.S. military’s response to Ebola hampered by lack of expertise with virus -- Washington Post
Photos: Ebola, the Invisible Threat -- WSJ
The reason Ebola isn't being stopped -- Elizabeth Cohen and John Bonifield, CNN

Update: The crazy conspiracy theories are now making the rounds .... Largest Liberian Newspaper: US Government Manufactured Ebola, AIDS Virus (CBS)

182 Billion Emails Sent Daily Worldwide

My Comment: And how many are span?

Doctors Without Borders: Ebola Virus Is “Totally Out Of Control” In Western Africa

Doctors Without Borders: Ebola Virus Is “Totally Out Of Control” In West Africa -- Legal Insurrection

The international volunteer medical organization Doctors Without Borders has issued a chilling warning — that the deadly Ebola virus is “totally out of control.”

The Ebola virus spreads through direct contact with infected people and causes internal bleeding and organ failure. There is no cure or vaccine so infected patients must be quarantined to stop the rapid spread of the virus. According to the World Health Organization, an Ebola outbreak can result in over 90% fatality rates.

Bart Janssens, director of operations for Doctors Without Borders, said Friday that the international community must send in more resources to stop the current Ebola epidemic.

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More News on reports That The Ebola Virus Is “Totally Out Of Control” in Western Africa

Doctors Without Borders: Ebola Out Of Control In West Africa -- IBTimes
Doctors Without Borders: Ebola outbreak 'out of control' -- AP
Ebola outbreak is 'out of control' in West Africa, says medical expert -- Tech Times
Ebola Outbreak 'Tip of the Iceberg,' Experts Say -- NBC

A Look At The U.S. Navy's 'Area 51'

The Navy's Acoustic Research Detachment is located on the banks of Lake Pend Oreille, which provides the perfect conditions for testing new submarine advancements as conditions closely mimic the ocean

The Navy's Most Vital And Secretive Submarine Base Is In... Idaho?!? -- FOXtrot Alpha/Jalopnik

From Foxtrot Alpha: The US Navy's submarine bases are some of the most high-security installations in the world, but one of their most important and shadowy submarine outposts is not in the middle of an ocean, but rather in a lake in landlocked Idaho.

The US Navy's submarine bases are some of the most high-security installations in the world, but one of their most important and shadowy submarine outposts is not located along the ocean, but rather in a lake in landlocked Idaho.

The Navy's Acoustic Research Detachment (ARD) at Bayview, Idaho, which is some 375 miles from the ocean, is where new submarine and surface ship shapes and subsystems are tested in a sub-scale environment that closely mimics the ocean. In other words, ARD Bayview is the Navy's lower-key subsurface Area 51, and massive Lake Pend Oreille is a water based, smaller, and more outsider friendly Nellis Range Complex.

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Update #1: The Navy's top secret submarine base in land-locked IDAHO where its new stealth technology -- Daily Mail
Update #2: The Navy's 'Area 51' in North Idaho -- Boise Weekly

My Comment: Forget about the US Navy testing it's newest equipment .... I would love to have a cottage on that lake .... the view looks awesome.

Are French Spies Responsible For Creating Mysterious YouTube Videos?

Are French Spies Creating Mysterious YouTube Videos? Bizarre 11-Second Shorts Could Be Encrypted Codes, Claim Conspiracy Theorists -- Daily Mail

* Unexplained clips appeared on Webdriver Torso's account in September
* Clips were posted for seven months, stopped three weeks ago but then started again today
* Each upload has 10 slides with blue and red rectangles of different shapes
* A BBC report has suggested the videos were likely uploaded in France
* Theorists claim it could be a modern-day equivalent of a numbers station used by spies during the Cold War

For seven months, a YouTube user posted a series of bizarre videos one after the other in quick succession before suddenly stopping.

Almost every clip on the Webdriver Torso channel lasts for 11 seconds and features ten slides, each one showing a blue and red rectangle of different sizes and shapes.

These were posted approximately every hour until three weeks ago, when they just stopped.

However, a new video has appeared today – causing conspiracy theorists to speculate on what the clips are.

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More News On Reports That French Intelligence Is Responsible For Creating Mysterious YouTube Videos?

Webdriver Torso YouTube mystery clips' French connection -- BBC
Are French spies creating mysterious YouTube videos? -- Digital Trends
Is this espionage or an art project? -- Globe and Mail
Could This Mysterious 'Number Station' YouTube Account Be A Message Board For Spies? -- Huffington Post
The truth behind one YouTube account's 77,000 mysterious videos -- The Guardian

WNU Editor: Here are some more mysteries on the web .... Five of the Internet’s eeriest, unsolved mysteries -- Washington Post

Dolphin Wars?

NATO Military Dolphins to Roam Black Sea – Media. © Photo public domain

NATO Military Dolphins to Roam Black Sea – Media -- RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, April 21 (RIA Novosti) – US military-trained dolphins and sea lions will participate in upcoming NATO military exercises in the Black Sea, the Russian Izvestiya newspaper reported Monday.

The paper, citing a spokesman for the US Navy’s marine mammals program, said some 20 dolphins and 10 sea lions will participate in exercises.

The exercises will test new equipment designed to "disorient enemy sonars, while sea lions and dolphins are looking for mines and military divers," the newspaper wrote.

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More News On NATO Exercises To be Conducted In The Black Sea Using Dolphins

US Navy to deploy combat dolphins for Black Sea military drills – report -- RT
Dolphins 'to Take Part' in NATO Black Sea Drills - Report -- Novinite
US, Russian military dolphins may face off in Black Sea -- News.com.au
US Military Dolphins to Participate in Black Sea Nato Drill -- IBTimes
Russian and American Military Dolphins Might Face Off This Summer -- Government Executive
Will U.S. and Russian Dolphins Face Off? No Way, Navy Says -- NBC

The Future Of Surveillance Will Be On Display In Today's Boston Marathon

Creepy Autonomous AI CCTV Surveillance Network Watches All Of Boston -- Daily Caller

Following the Boston Marathon bombings almost one year ago, the Boston Police Department started looking toward more high-tech means of securing the city against future attacks. They found the solution in the form of an artificially intelligent, self-learning surveillance network that now watches the entire city, and all of its inhabitants.

The Texas-based Behavioral Recognition Systems, Inc. (BRS Labs) headed by former Secret Service special agent John Frazzini has a reputation for developing advanced, AI-based surveillance platforms. The system the company built for Boston after the bombings is on the bleeding edge of such technology, and not only watches and analyzes human behavior, but learns from it to identify suspicious or abnormal activity.

It actually predict threats by itself, completely free of additional human programming, guidance or monitoring.

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My Comment: This is cutting edge technology that is just as disturbing as the NSA's ability to monitor our communications networks.

A 'Radiation Belt' For Nuclear Emergencies

Israeli Company Develops 'Radiation Belt' For Nuclear Emergencies -- Jerusalem Post/Reuters

Called the "StemRad 360 Gamma" belt, it shields the body from the effects of gamma radiation.

"It may look simplistic on the outside but the structure inside is three dimensional and very unique. The idea here was to create a product that on the one hand protects but on the other hand is not over burdened weight."

Oren Milstein is co-founder of Stemrad, the company behind the belt. He won't give much away about its key technology, but says it's partially comprised of lead and has been designed to protect the pelvic area, where most of the the body's renewable bone marrow is concentrated.

Milstein says protecting that bone marrow can be crucial to ensuring survival after radiation exposure.

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Update #1: Nuclear Accident? Fasten Up Your 'Radiation Belt' -- NextGov
Update #2: ‘Anti-radiation belt’ developed by Israeli firm for nuclear emergencies -- RT

My Comment: There are three Nobel laureates on-board, and they are vouching for it.

Scientists Reconstruct Asteroid Impact To Have Hit Earth 3.26 Billion Years Ago

The massive asteroid was almost as wide as Rhode Island and about three to five times larger than the rock thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

Scientists Reconstruct Asteroid Impact SIX TIMES Bigger Than The Blast That Wiped Out The Dinosaurs Which Boiled Oceans, Burned The Sky, And Shook The Earth For Thirty Minutes -- Daily Mail

* 36 mile wide asteroid is believed to have hit Earth 3.26 billion years ago
* Collision punched a crater into the planet’s crust 300 miles across
* Atmosphere filled with dust and the tops of oceans boiled

cientists have reconstructed one of the biggest asteroid impacts ever to hit Earth - and say it was six times as big as the blast than wiped out the dinosaurs.

The 36 mile wide asteroid is believed to have hit Earth 3.26 billion years ago, creating unique geological features found in a South African region known as the Barberton greenstone belt.

Researcher say the impact would have boiled oceans, burned the sky, and cause the planet to shake for 30 minutes.

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My Comment: That must have been one hell of an impact 3.26 billion years ago.

Boeing's 'Phantom Swift' Vertical Take Off And Landing Craft

 

Boeing Going Vertical with 'Phantom Swift' Military X-Plane (Video) -- Yahoo News/Live Science 

Aerospace giant Boeing is designing a new type of aircraft capable of taking off, hovering and landing vertically, the company says. Such vehicles are essentially hybrids of helicopters and fixed-wing airplanes, and could one day be used by the military to transport troops, weapons or cargo to and from the battlefield. 

Boeing was one of four companies recently selected to receive funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) — the arm of the U.S. Department of Defense charged with developing new technologies for the military — to design new, unmanned vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Boeing will receive $17 million as part of the agreement, which is part of DARPA's VTOL Experimental Plane, or X-Plane, program.  

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My Comment: The above Live Science article provides a good description of DARPA's X-Wing Competition.

For One Day Only Next Week, Google Will Let Anyone In The US Buy Glass

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For One Day, Google Will Let Anyone In The US Buy Glass -- The Verge

Google is about to make its biggest push yet to get Glass in the hands of as many people as possible. The Verge has obtained documents indicating that the company will open up its "Explorer Program" and make Glass available to anyone who wants to purchase a pair, possibly as soon as next week. It’ll be a limited-time offer, only available for about a day, and only US residents will be eligible to purchase the $1,500 device. Google will also include a free sunglass shade or one of its newly-introduced prescription glasses frames along with any purchase. An internal Google slide shows that the promotion may be announced on April 15th, though all the details of this program have yet to be finalized.

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Update: Google Glass available to anyone for one day only -- CNN

My Comment: Rats .... it will only be available in the U.S. .... and I live in Canada.

U.S. Air Force To Test Google Glass For Combat And Intelligence Missions

Above: Airforce test dummy wearing Google Glass. Image Credit: Rick Eldridge, 711 Human Performance Wing, U.S. Air Force

U.S. Air Force Is Testing Google Glass & Building Apps For Battlefield Use (Exclusive) -- Venture Beat

The U.S. Air Force’s “BATMAN” research team at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio is beta-testing Google Glass for possible use on the battlefield.

And so far, it likes what it sees.

The positive attributes “are its low power, its low footprint, it sits totally above the eyes, and doesn’t block images or hinder vision,” said 2nd Lt. Anthony Eastin, a behavioral scientist on the BATMAN team testing the glasses.

The BATMAN evaluation group is part of the U.S. Air Force’s 711th Human Performance Wing and is one of the military’s most distinguished research and development groups. It comprises both military and civilian behavioral and technology scientists. The BATMAN acronym stands for Battlefield Air Targeting Man-Aided (K)nowledge.

“We borrowed the “N,” Eastin said.

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More News On The U.S. Air Force To Test Google Glass For Combat And Intelligence Missions

The US Air Force is testing Google Glass for use on the battlefield -- The Verge
Air Force researchers test Google Glass for combat, intelligence missions -- RT
Holy Smokes! BATMAN Tests Google Glass for the U.S. Military -- NBC
Google Glass testing begins with the US Air Force -- Android Community
US Air Force takes a look through Google Glass -- CNet
U.S. Air Force’s ‘BATMAN’ team tests Google Glass for combat use -- Guns.com
U.S. Air Force Reportedly Assessing Disruptive Technology Like Google Glass -- Wall Street Pit